Stranded in Another World
by kittyface27
Summary: When Ace falls out the sky onto a different planet, nothing is like his home world. Humans are not good creatures. Ace knows that from the start, but when he's welcomed onto a human pirate ship, things change. Rocky at first but he grows to care for this world and those on the crew, and especially the first mate of the Whitebeard pirates.
1. Meeting Different Species

**I have a problem, everyone. I CANNOT write short stories anymore! I strive for 15,000 words and end up with 150,000 words! Anyways, I've done angels, mermaids, ghosts, dragons, werewolves, vampires, and zombies. It was only a matter of time before I go to aliens. But, not like stereotypical aliens. There is a lot of exposition and exploration about Ace and his world. It's Marco/Ace but that's not the only focus. The second 2/3s of the story are heavy Ace and Marco, but still not all there is. Anyways, hope you enjoy this. I've never written a story like this one. The chapters I think will be longer. And Luffy and Sabo are not in this story for reasons that will be explained later. **

**Possible OOC Ace, but his best qualities are played up to the max. Such a sweetie. **

**Enjoy~**

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Ace couldn't even scream as he fell from the sky, tumbling down and down and down from the atmosphere, burning painfully and having the wind hurt his entire body. He fell lower and lower, looking down while he tumbled, feeling nauseous and ill. He felt like he was going to throw up, but he didn't. The sky was brightening around him, and pretty blue color unlike the yellow of his world. His world that was gone now.

He looked down and saw what he assumed was the ocean on this planet. It was vast, and Ace was extremely lucky that there was land beneath him or he'd drown. That is, if he survived the impact. His body was incredibly durable, but this might be too much. It was a miracle he hadn't suffocated.

Tumbling down, doing flips and twists with no control, he finally reached the ground, slamming into a tree and breaking it apart and he hit the ground, splinters in his body from the broken tree. He felt blood coming from his arm, and looked to see it was broken badly, despite how durable his body was. It was alarming and scary, but thankfully seemed to be the only very bad injury.

He had pieces of wood embedded into his back, but they weren't too deep. His shirt was torn to bits, and his shorts were full of holes. His shoes were gone, having fallen off long ago. He did his best to stand, dark blue blood coming from the broken bits of blue skin. He didn't know where he was, or if the planet was populated, but this place did seem to have food and fresh water, which was all he could ask for at the moment. Would he be able to eat the food? He didn't know.

When he got to his feet, he fell over, landing hard on the ground, and wondering what would happen next. If there was any civilization on this island, or if he was all alone. Or if there was any life at all on the planet. He didn't remember seeing any sort of homes here. At least, not where he was looking.

Everything had been blurry and confusing, so he may have missed seeing any living places. He finally fell unconscious, head turned slightly to the side as he breathed deeply, shuddering from the impact that he'd somehow survived. Anyone else would have died probably. He was lucky. Beyond lucky, and he hoped the luck wouldn't run out.

He didn't wake to the sound of running feet coming his way, staying completely still and asleep, bleeding from his arm wound and the wood in his back. Blue blood dripped down his arm over the white spots that decorated much of his skin, on his cheeks, shoulders and rest of his body.

-x-

Thatch watched the sky from his spot on the beach, watching the clouds. His attention was brought to one of the biggest clouds when a dark spot appeared and started falling out of the sky. He wondered if it was an asteroid or meteor, and hoped it wouldn't do any damage to the ship, even if it wasn't directly over it.

He watched as it tumbled closer and closer to the ground before seeing that it wasn't a rock of some sort, but something that looked like a human body. He knew that was ridiculous, but he couldn't stop watching. It felt like forever before he could make out that it _was _a human body. He jumped up, eyes wide in shock and awe, before he started running in the direction the person was going to land.

They'd probably be a splatter on the ground, but he had to see. He ran down the beach where he was alone, as no one else wanted to go to the beach on a stormy day. He ran through the sand and finally heard the slam of the person hitting the ground, with the crack of wood splintering and then something heavy hitting the ground.

He ran around the bend of a large tree and saw the shadow of the person who had fallen, _standing up. _This person just fell from the sky but was alive and standing! But then, the shadow collapsed along with the person and Thatch finally reached him, only to have his eyes widen more than they'd ever before.

He stared at the blue human with white spots dotting his body. He slowly walked closer to it, or him, and crouched before him. His clothes were ruined, and Thatch could see white specks on his chest through the holes in his shirt.

The person had a human looking face, and Thatch was almost afraid to touch it, sure it wasn't human since it had fallen from the sky and had blue blood dripping from its body. He reached for its eyelid and pushed it up to see bright yellow eyes with specks of gold in them. They were very pretty, and he didn't wake up.

Thatch was sure it was an alien, and beamed at the new discovery. "Man, you really hurt your arm," he said, looking at the broken bone. He took a chance and gently lifted the alien up to see splinters of wood embedded in his back. "That looks like it hurts," the chef said quieter. He adjusted the alien so his arms didn't hurt the wood in his back and carried him back to the ship. Haruta was gonna be so amazed.

He carried the poor guy back to the ship and ran into Marco before he reached the ship. "Marco, look, look! I found an alien! He fell from the sky!" Thatch shouted to his brother and fellow commander. Marco looked up from his book and then dropped it onto the ground, his mouth wide open in shock. "Isn't it cool?!"

Marco stood up and hurried over to Thatch and his discovery. He looked down at the very humanoid alien, and was sure it wasn't just a human who'd eaten a strange devil fruit. "Look at its eyes," Thatch said with a grin. Marco made eye contact before lifting one of the eyelids up and seeing the yellow irises. "He's hurt pretty bad, so I want us to treat him."

The phoenix wasn't sure about this. They had no idea what the alien was like, he might try to kill them all. He looked young, but that didn't mean anything. He could be hundreds of years old. But, his curiosity overruled his caution, and he walked with Thatch and the injured alien, looking at him every few seconds.

When they reached the ship, everyone quieted when they saw what Thatch was carrying. "I found an alien, everyone!" he cheered. A normal group of people might be scared, but most of the pirates that were in that area were amazed, and walked up to it, crowding around Thatch. It hadn't stirred even once, still unconscious. But, it was breathing, so it wasn't dead. Thankfully.

"I gotta take him to the infirmary, move," Thatch said as he waded through the crowd. Pops wasn't on the ship at the moment, so he didn't know about the alien Thatch had brought along. He couldn't wait for it to wake up, but it probably wouldn't understand what anyone was saying. Oh he was so excited!

The inside of the ship was much less crowded and quieter. Marco and now Haruta were following along, Haruta wanting to get more close up and look at the alien longer. "And he fell from the sky?" he asked in amazement. "And he only has a broken arm and some scratches?"

"Yup! Isn't it cool?" Thatch gushed as they entered the infirmary and he set the alien down on its stomach since it had wood stuck in his back. Marco and Haruta both winced when they saw that.

"Man, that's gotta hurt," Haruta said quietly. Marco went to grab a nurse to come and check him out. Thatch and Haruta were crouched by the bed and looking at the aliens face. "He's kinda cute. I like the freckles."

Thatch beamed. "I was thinking that, too! I wonder how old he is, or what his name is, or where he came from?" he said with bright eyes.

Marco brought out Whiskey, who dropped the book she was carrying when she saw what was on his hospital bed. "Whiskey, you gotta treat the alien," Haruta said with a smile, so excited! They could sense people crowding outside the infirmary doors, looking through the windows to try and see the alien again.

Whiskey didn't say anything, and got to work, cutting the ruined shirt off and handing it to Marco, who took it to the garbage. She got to work removing each splinter with tweezers, Marco shining the flashlight on his back to help her see better. Dots of blood were everywhere from the small splinters, and big puddles of it from the large pieces that had been embedded into his back.

Tami was working on his arm while Whiskey did his back. Tami put the bone back in place, stitched the exit wound up, and was making him a cast, hoping it wouldn't wake up while doing this and freak out. They were both nervous about it, not excited like their brothers were. Marco was there, and that was reassuring, since he was strong and would be able to protect them if the alien lashed out.

After the cast was in place, and his back was bandaged and disinfected, the nurses hurried out of the room and back to their offices, truly worried about this whole thing. Thatch watched the alien breathe slowly, laying on its stomach. "He looks really human other than his skin and eyes," he commented to his two brothers. Haruta nodded in agreement.

"I wonder if he'll be able to understand us," the smallest commander asked curiously. Marco could tell those outside had dispersed, no longer trying to look through the windows. "I really wonder where he came from. How did he end up in the sky?"

Marco said, "Maybe he was out in space and somehow fell into the atmosphere, though he shouldn't be alive if that happened. Not just from the changing pressure, but no oxygen and the burning of entering the atmosphere from space. Plus, the fall should have turned him into a pancake."

Thatch looked away from the alien's face, and said, "Well, for a human. He's not a human." Marco replied that that was a good point. They waited for another fifteen minutes before the captain arrived and entered the infirmary quietly, eyes going straight to the blue and bandaged person lying unconscious on the bed.

He looked at the creature for a while before speaking, which was what his sons were waiting for. "So, Thatch, tell me what happened," the captain said in an even voice. He didn't know what to expect of the alien. He looked small and young, but that was inconsequential at the moment. But, he was truly glad he got to see something new. He hadn't seen anything new in decades, being so old and such a seasoned pirate.

"So, he fell out of the sky! And he landed in a tree that stabbed a bunch of splinters in his back. His arm was really badly broken, so the nurses fixed him up. He hasn't woken up yet. He wasn't even screaming when he fell out of the sky!" Thatch gushed, eyes sparkling. Whitebeard couldn't help but chuckle at his immature son. He sure was excited.

Haruta was nodding along, also extremely interested and wishing he would wake up. "What should we do with him after he wakes up?" Marco asked the captain. Whitebeard thought for a moment.

"I guess it depends on what he's like. Looks like a male to me, but I could be wrong," Whitebeard replied. "If he's violent then he can leave. I am interested in his story, though. Though I wonder if he'll be able to understand us or speak. He's kinda cute." The captain did not say "cute" often, but the other three had already thought of that, too. "Looks like those white dots are freckles."

Marco nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking that, too. He looks very humanoid. I wonder how his body functions. If he has a similar system to humans since he looks like us on the outside, besides the skin and eyes." Marco couldn't help but start looking forward to him waking up. They'd seemed to agree that it looked like a he, and saying "it" wasn't very respectful. If they were wrong about his gender, then they'd just say something else. If there was a gender with him. This would be interesting, no doubt.

-x-

Ace slowly opened his yellow eyes, his arm feeling heavy and back sore. He was on something soft and squishy, probably a bed. This made his eyes open wider and take in his surroundings. He was in a room with what looked like rudimentary equipment, clearly some sort of hospital. He noticed the four creatures standing near the bed, looking at him in interest.

He looked at his arm, and saw some sort of sleeve on it. Maybe to fix his broken arm. It appeared these aliens didn't have the kind of technology that his world had. He also felt a wrapping around his torso to take care of the other wounds.

The sayla sat up, using his good arm to push himself into a sitting position, and put his hand on his head, feeling dizzy. "Are you alright?" the one with yellow hair asked. These people had a pinkish-cream skin color, much unlike Ace's bright blue. He could understand what the aliens were saying due to the chip in his head that processed other languages and let him speak those as well.

Everyone in his solar system had one implanted in their heads to communicate with other species when they visited their planets. Some traveled through space while others had to use crafts. Ace was able to live in space by his body shutting down and not needing the breathe. He prefered being on a planet than in space. It was lonely in space. That's how he ended up falling into this planet. It was pure accident. He would be unable to get back to space with nothing to lift him up high enough to get out of the atmosphere.

"I'm okay. Thanks for treating my wounds," Ace replied calmly, looking at his arm covering. The others looked surprised that Ace could understand and speak their language.

The one with a huge haircut had stars in his eyes. "How can you speak our language?" he asked in awe. Ace could tell this planet was underdeveloped if they didn't know about the chips. Would they even understand if he explained it? Well, he'd try to keep it simple.

"The chip in my head," he said, pointing to the right side of his head where the chip was inserted. The people looked confused, and Ace now knew they didn't know what that was. "It's something inserted into your head that helps you understand and speak other languages," the sayla explained.

"Wow! We don't have anything that cool, here. My name is Thatch, this is Marco, Haurta and Whitebeard," Thatch explained. "What's your name? How did you get here? Where are you from? What are you? How old are you?"

Marco hit Thatch's head. "One question at a time, idiot." Thatch pouted, but Ace answered all of his questions promptly, to be polite. He had those questions for these as well. Ace looked at each person, and wondered why one of them was so much bigger than the others. He wasn't a stranger to big creatures that could speak, too.

"I'm Asus, but call me Ace. I was out in space but then accidentally passed into your atmosphere. I'm a sayla, I'm from another galaxy, and I'm 20," Ace answered. He let the people digest his answers before Ace asked them the same question besides asking where they were from and their names. They were from this planet, clearly.

"We're humans. You're on Earth, in the New World, which is this part of the ocean that our ship sails on. I'm forty four, Thatch is forty three, Haruta is 20 six. Pops is seventy two," Marco explained. Ace was surprised by their ages. They didn't look good for their age. Ace would still look in his twenties when he was in his forties. Humans must have a shorter life span.

"You don't look your ages," Ace was unable to keep from saying it. Thatch looked offended and Whitebeard laughed an unique laugh.

"Cheeky brat you are," he said. "We're the Whitebeard pirates, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ace." The sayla asked what pirates were, not familiar with the word. "Sailors that sail the sea in search of adventure. We're seen as criminals to the rest of the world. Pirates are the freest people on earth. There are many humans on our crew, so don't be startled by the size of my family." Ace nodded.

He then asked, "Do all of you have that tone of skin?" The pirates looked surprised by the question, but nodded. "Mostly near this skin color, though some are darker or lighter. Definitely none that are your color unless they ate a devil fruit."

Ace changed the color of his body to a tan color similar to Marco's, his freckles turning a dark brown and his hair staying black. His eyes turned a steely gray. The humans watched him in amazement and shock, and Ace deduced that they were unable to do anything like that.

"That's so cool!" Haruta shouted in awe. "Can you change your skin into any color?" Ace nodded. "Turn red!" Ace did. "Turn purple!" He did again. "Turn rainbow tie dye!" Ace did as well. Then he changed back into the more human appearance. "That's so cool! Can you do anything else?"

Ace really didn't think these people were going to hurt him, since they'd helped treat his wounds, but he couldn't help but be a bit uneasy about exposing his other abilities. "You don't need to show us if you don't wish to, Ace. It's something private most likely," the biggest man said. Ace appreciated this, but he would show them. Why not? It was being open and honest, like how he always strived to be.

"No, I'll show you." Haurta and Thatch looked extremely interested, and Ace snapped his fingers and all sound disappeared from the room. The other four looked shocked and Thatch tried to talk, but no sound came out. Haruta stomped his foot on the ground and clapped, but no sound came. Ace snapped his fingers again and the sound returned with a _whoosh. _He wasn't done though, he had more powers. He picked up a candle next to him on the table and deemed it not something too special. He put it in front of his face and bit and clicked his tongue, and the candle broke into tiny pieces like an explosion had occurred, even though it was only sound waves that had done that.

He then rubbed his finger and thumb together in circles to the right, and everything became much louder, the breathing pushing against ear drums and Ace whispered a word and it was like it blare around the room. The pirates covered their ears and Ace circled his finger and thumb in the other direction, lowering the volume back to normal.

"I can control sound," he said simply. The four looked intrigued.

"Can all sayla do that?" Marco asked curiously. Ace shook his head and told him they had different powers. No one's was the same. Everyone on his planet had something different, even if the powers were very similar. "How far can you do the shockwave? The one that broke the candle?"

"Around a mile," Ace replied. "It's not always destructive, it can be used to knock computers out."

Thatch cocked his head. "What's a computer?"

"A piece of technology you don't have. It's hard to explain," Ace replied. He was disappointed with the way this planet was developed. He wouldn't be using a computer anytime soon, or a phone it seemed.

Thatch pouted, but Ace didn't explain. "Well, thanks for taking care of me. How do I get this arm thing off when it's better?" The four looked at him in confusion. Ace was unsure about their reactions. They took care of him, it would make sense for them to let him off their vessel. It was made of wood, which Ace hadn't seen as a building of some sort in a while.

"You want to leave already?" Haruta asked sadly. Ace looked confused. Did they want him to stay? They weren't bothered that he was an alien? Not all planets are like those in his own galaxy. Where they were welcome to travel between planets as long as they had the correct information and vaccinations to not spread any diseases to other planets that might not have that. Once someone came to the sayla's neighboring planet with an infection from a plant and it spread quickly. After that, people had to be checked before traveling.

"You want me to stay?" he asked.

"Yeah! You're really cool," Thatch whined, and Ace wondered if he was actually in his forties or if Marco had lied. But Ace still didn't understand why they wanted him to stay. The leader hadn't said anything to correct his subordinates about keeping him. It would be better to learn about this world from people who lived there instead of trial and error, and he didn't know anything about the planet's regulations or anything important.

Ace frowned. "You're not bothered that I'm an alien? You don't seem like a species that would be welcoming to newcomers like my solar system." He wasn't trying to be rude, that wasn't his intention at all.

They shook their heads. "I think it's really cool. None of us knew that there was life outside of our planet." Ace didn't ask how they hadn't been able to tell since they didn't have any sort of very advanced technology. "Besides, you look human enough now, too. No one other than those on our ship would think you're anything other than a human, so you'll be safe."

The sayla frowned, not sure about it. Whitebeard spoke next. "No one will force you to stay if you don't want to. We still have a few days on this island, so you can think about it if you'd like." Thatch and Haruta looked angrily at their leader. "But, you know nothing about this planet. wouldn't it be helpful to be around people who will help you learn about it?"

Ace admitted that was a good reason to stay. He couldn't get off this planet anytime soon since they no doubt couldn't fly up to space. Ace thought for a moment, before saying he'd stay for now. Try and see if it would work out with him staying.

"Yay! Let us show you around our ship!" Haruta cheered. "And we'll introduce you to the other commanders, too!"

Ace looked confused. "I thought Whitebeard was the leader."

"Pops - Whitebeard - is the captain of the crew, but with over 1000 people, he needs more help. So there's fifteen commanders with each of their own divisions to take care of. All three of us are commanders and Marco is the first mate, second in command. Pops still makes most of the big decisions but we commanders help manage the crew," Thatch explained.

Ace hummed. "Sounds like some sort of military system."

Marco nodded. "In a way, I guess it does. We all have to be strong to fight marines, the military on earth. They're governed by the world government. They're all assholes. Have slaves and kill civilians on a whim. They torture people in the prison they run, and try to kill pirates every time possible. We often have marines attack our ship, so we all have to be strong."

"Your planet sounds terri- _different_." His voice, however, displayed the displeasure of what he thought of earth so far. The four laughed, and agreed. At least, in a violence way. "I'm surprised there's only one goverment. On my world and other planets, there are separate governments for separate parts of the world. Independent from one another. Though there is an organization that brings all of the leaders together to take care of certain problems that would affect the whole world."

Thatch huffed. "Sounds better than what we have here. Can we ask how you ended up here?" he asked curiously. The smaller three were all sitting on a bed across from the sayla, and Ace agreed to tell them. Whitebeard was still standing, though he was leaning against a part of the wall that had nothing in his way.

"I did something stupid. I was messing around with the warp system, and I ended up warping outside of your planet. It was an accident, and my wrist band broke so I can't get back. I'm completely stranded, lightyears away from my home." He sounded pretty calm about it. Marco said that, and Ace explained, "I was out in space for a couple weeks, so I came to terms with it. Though I didn't have any family so there's not much to miss."

Haruta looked sad. "Weren't you lonely?" Ace shook his head, and explained that he had friends that he lived with. "You don't have family at all? No siblings?" Ace looked sad, eyes falling to the floor before he composed himself.

"I did have family. I had two younger brothers. They died, though. So I don't have anyone left. Got sick at our home and was unable to be cured in time," he said in a flat voice. Thatch started crying, surprising Ace. "Don't worry, it happened when I was a kid. I've moved on. Though, now I don't have any pictures of them. All back on my home planet." That fact did hurt, a lot. He might never see those photos again, though their faces were thankfully burned into his mind, and wouldn't be fading. Never.

His stomach growled painfully. Now that his body was no longer shut down by being in space, he was starving. He sighed, and asked if they had food. Thatch jumped up, the somber mood mostly behind them as Ace hadn't seemed upset. He missed his brothers, but it had been nine years since they died. He'd moved on, and could look at their memories with a smile. He wondered if Luffy would have grown up and stayed a little idiot.

"Yes! I'm the chef, I'll cook some food for you while Haruta shows you around the ship," Thatch declared. "Do you know anything you're allergic to?" Ace shook his head. After all, he didn't know anything about the food on this planet. "Do you drink water?" Ace nodded. "I'll cook you up something good. Have fun exploring the ship!" and he ran out to go cook something for the sayla.

"Make sure you're gentle with your back. The arm should be fine as it's in a cast, but still don't be rough with it," Marco instructed. Ace nodded, but then stopped them. "What is it?"

Ace then asked what a devil fruit was since he was wondering about it when it was first said. It had an interesting name, and he wondered why it was named like that. "A devil fruit is something you eat that gives you powers. There's some weird ones out there, but other really powerful ones. There are only three on this ship with any of them, and that's me, Pops and Jozu, one of the other commanders."

"What are your powers?" Ace asked in interest, leaning forward to listen.

"I can turn into a phoenix and heal any of my wounds and fly. Jozu can harden himself into diamond, which is the hardest thing on earth besides sea stone. Pops can make earthquakes, so his fruit isn't used much or it could cause serious damage. He's strong without it, though," Marco explained. Ace didn't know what a phoenix was, but didn't ask. Instead, Marco changed forms and turned into a giant bird made out of blue and yellow flames.

Ace thought it was pretty amazing. He wished he could fly. He liked his own powers, and was plenty strong on his own without them, but flying would be an amazing experience. "Are we going to explore or not?" Haruta asked impatiently. Ace stood up slowly, not wanting to aggravate his wounds, and held his cast up. He was then given a sling that he put on, his injured arm resting near his chest.

Haruta led him out of the infirmary, and around the ship. Since he'd been unconscious when he was taken into the ship, he didn't know just how big it was. It had many floors, and many bedrooms. There was a library, training room, kitchen with a huge dining room attached, a couple bathhouses and bathrooms, a few offices for the commanders, and then the hallway that had all of the commanders' bedrooms. A huge door was at the end of the hall, and he assumed it was the captain's room.

The ship was massive and all made of wood. "Where will I sleep?" he asked, since all of the bunks looked taken. And he wondered if he'd be ogled at a lot, since he was an alien to these humans. It was only natural they'd be curious, and Ace would not take it personally. No aliens had ever visited this planet. At least, not that anyone knew.

"We have a guest room you can have. It's really small, but private. You won't be sharing with anyone," Haruta replied. He was shorter than Ace was, even though he was older. They passed many people who didn't look twice at Ace, probably not realizing he was the alien since he was no longer blue. He'd rather be blue, proud of his true colors, but he didn't want to overwhelm the humans.

When they came across any commanders, Haruta introduced them. They all looked quite different. Had different outfits as well. Some looked quite grumpy, but others were intrigued, and asked him about himself. Ace would reply, but not go into depth like he had with the first pirates he'd met. Nobody asked about any powers besides his ability to change his appearance, which Haruta would explain that he could turn into a rainbow character and it was "super awesome".

After the ship had been explored thoroughly and he was shown around the deck, which was massive, another commander took him aside to do measurements for new clothes, since Ace was only in ripped up shorts and bandages on his upper body.

The human's name was Izo, and he was in charge of things having to do with clothes. He made his own kimonos, the dress/robe-like jacket he had on. He wore makeup, which Ace hadn't seen anyone else wear on the ship yet.

He didn't take off anything, since the bandages could not be removed yet, and he had his waist, chest, and legs measured. Ace had a very strong chest, and muscular arms despite his young appearance. More than once someone had commented that his body was oddly human.

"Maybe your bodies are oddly sayla," was his response each time. He found nothing insulting over being called similar to humans. They meant nothing rude, and Ace wasn't how he used to be. He wasn't angered or offended easily, and had no reason to hate these people. They helped him, after all. He would have had a lot of trouble getting all of the wood and splinters out of his skin by himself.

Haruta led Ace back to the kitchen where Thatch was cooking. Ace looked around and saw the kitchen. It looked like an antique kitchen, but it still functioned perfectly fine. Thatch was humming to himself while he cooked. Ace, even though he didn't recognize the smell, thought the food smelled good. He didn't know what it was, but looked forward to trying something completely new.

He sat at the bar counter and watched as Thatch cooked something brown in a pan on the stove. He had no idea what it was, but it didn't take long for it to be served to him with utensils. "It's called lemon-chicken. Chicken is a type of meat, a bird, and lemon is fruit that is often used to give food more flavor."

Ace picked up the fork and knife and cut into the meat before taking a bite. Thatch watched excitedly. Ace swallowed, and said, "It's good." It wasn't the most enthusiastic response, but it was honest. He ate the whole thing and gratefully took the glass of water given to him.

"Hey, Ace, are you strong?" Thatch asked. "Besides your awesome sound-powers." Ace shrugged.

"I'm strong on my planet. Not sure how I'd match up against humans, though. Why?" he wondered. He liked to fight as long as no one got hurt, and would always spar with Luffy and Sabo, and continued to practice and stay fit even after they died.

Thatch grinned. "Cause we all love to fight and spar. Plus, we gotta be strong to be on the New World seas," the chef explained.

Ace nodded, and mentioned that he used to fight with his brothers a lot. "We lived near the woods and had our own little clearing where we'd fight. Luffy's power was pretty useless. He could turn into rubber and stretch his body. He wasn't good at using it, though. Sabo was strong even though his power wasn't offensive. He was super smart. He didn't like his power until he was able to start reading people's minds when he wanted."

"Cool! Your power is really cool. You'd be good on stealth missions and stuff. I would have so much fun with that power. It'd be great for pranks and such," Thatch said with a goofy grin, and again Ace wondered if he was really the age he said he was. Maybe humans matured slower mentally than physically? "Do you wanna spar? It'll be fun and we can see how you match up against humans."

Ace shrugged, glancing down at the bandages and cast. "I don't think it'd be a good idea for now. Since none of you have the kind of medical equipment back home, I'll be healing slowly. Maybe after I'm a bit better." If he stayed that long. Though he didn't know where he would go or what he'd do if he left these nice humans. Plus, they described the world here and Ace didn't know how he'd do anything without knowing if their government didn't permit it.

"That's true. I didn't really think about that," the human replied, pouting a little bit. Ace didn't know what else to talk about. Thatch took the empty plate and brought it to the large sink to wash. Looked like they didn't have an electronic machine to wash dishes. He sighed and put his chin in his hand while the elbow was propped up on the table. He was a bit bored.

He got up and walked to the library to read something to pass the time. He passed a couple people, and they asked who the hell was he and what was he doing on their ship. "I'm the alien Thatch brought here today," he replied simply. "They're letting me stay for the time being."

He passed them before they asked anymore questions and found the library on his own. He looked at the books, whose bindings were written in a language he didn't recognize. "Chip, activate reading comprehension," he said quietly, and the letters on the books reformed into his own language. He couldn't imagine not having the chip. And they didn't break easily, so he wouldn't need to get it fixed again. So it was there to stay, thankfully.

He found one about the ocean here, and took it to the couch in the corner, putting his feet up since he didn't have his boots anymore. They'd fallen off during the fall into the atmosphere. He read the book, learning about the animals and facts about the oceans, specifically the one they were on now. It briefly mentioned weather, which apparently was a nightmare.

This ocean was abnormal, weird things could happen to the current. His home's ocean didn't have anything crazy like that. Though one of the planets nearby did have strange occurrences, though nothing like the ones listed in the book.

He stayed there for a long time, and finished the book. He'd silenced the room so he could read in peace and quiet, and no one else was there. Maybe his powers would really help here. He could silence the room he was staying in. That would be nice. There was bound to be a lot of noise during the night between how many people there were and the sounds that came from outside the side of the Moby Dick.


	2. Mixed Views

**Jasmine: Maybe they will. Just have to wait and see.**

**blueflamegoddess: Thank you!**

**Kippysaurus: Ace has to look non-human but I wanted him to look human on the outside so I changed his skin color. Romance between a human and an alien that doesn't look similar to a human in any way might have been weird to picture. and I like the color blue. There's a lot more about his people later on.**

**G1ntsuk1: thank you! **

**WhiteyWolf26: There's a reason Ace is so chill. If he were from earth in this situation, he'd be freaking the crap out. And yeah, Sabo and Luffy's deaths are mentioned often. Poor babies.**

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**Trapped at home so I will have lots of time to write more stories! Hopefully they go somewhere... Be safe and listen to your health officials, everyone! And feel free to binge my stories while housebound. lol. Enjoy~ More AN at the bottom.**

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"Is it really a good idea to have him here?" Kingdew asked during the commanders' meeting Pops had called. Everyone was sitting in their places, the second division seat empty, like always. Thatch and Haruta huffed. Ace was really cool, of course they should keep him. "Didn't he show you powerful abilities? What if he turns on us?"

Marco sighed, and Izo said, "You're acting like he's some rabid animal and not clearly equal to humans in intelligence. Yeah, he has a powerful ability, but it's basically a devil fruit power. And it's not like he came to earth to conquer humankind. It was an accident, and now he's stranded."

Whitebeard had filled them all in one what happened in the infirmary. Kingdew grumbled, but a few of the commanders agreed with him. They didn't know Ace well, had just met and he wasn't normal. Well, in human standards.

"We just don't know him well enough for it to be safe," Fossa added. "He may have transformed himself to look human, but what if that is a ruse? He's just trying to make us all comfortable around him?"

Haruta and Thatch were very defensive about sticking up for Ace. Atmos then said, "He can't be a pirate with us. He's never even heard of them. He might bring trouble for us."

Haruta sighed. "Trouble follows us everywhere, I would have thought you'd realized that by now. Besides, you're not born a pirate. We all had to learn, why can't Ace?" Thatch nodded along. Those who had met Ace and seen how polite and human-like he was were more leaning towards giving the kid a chance. "Besides, he's really interesting! And he could be a big help on the ship or on missions."

"And he said he was strong back on his own planet," Thatch added.

"That hardly matters. His planet might be completely weak," Kingdew replied. The captain had stayed quiet as his sons argued. He hadn't voiced his opinion yet, still wanting his children to talk it out, even if he personally thought that Ace was a sweet kid. He was very calm about everything, and didn't lash out at anyone for anything. Honestly, he seemed older than 20 years old. He had a sense of maturity of himself, but the captain thought that was what happened when you had no family.

"It's not like we're asking him to be a commander. Lots of our crew are not the strongest people," Izo pointed out. "And he doesn't seem like one to get angry on a whim and do something stupid or reckless." The man adjusted his hair a little bit after speaking.

Belnheim then added, "Don't you think it's suspicious that he's so calm about this? He's on a completely different planet with strangers of a different species and he's totally fine with it? Isn't that weird?"

Marco replied, "No, his solar system had the planets mingle together. They visited the planets whenever he wanted. He only ended up here on accident. I think it's admirable how well he's doing, at least in front of us." Some of the table nodded in agreement. Even Whitebeard nodded in agreement. Ace was handling everything well. "Besides, he wasn't expecting us to let him stay on the ship, so it's not like that was his plan all along. The five minutes after he passed out from falling from the sky."

Namur was angry about everything going on in the meeting room. He knew this was probably how it went when they were deciding to keep him aboard, since he was a fishman, many disapproved. Pops and Marco never did, just like they were now.

"I can understand what it would feel like to be him. Do you all remember what my first month's experience here was? People stared at me, some talked down to me, didn't _trust _me cause I wasn't human. None of you know what that feels like. So try and think about the subject's feelings and what effect your words would have if Ace was here," the fishman said. Some of the commanders fell silent at this. Namur was part of the family but it had been a rocky start. "I think we should give him a chance."

No one said anything else, so the captain spoke. "Though I value everyones' opinions equally, I will make the decision. I want to keep Ace on the ship for now. He has no family, maybe we can give him one." Many of the table did not look happy, but Whitebeard didn't change his decision. "We'll observe him, but I have a feeling he is not a bad kid. We're giving him a chance whether you like it or not."

The meeting was dismissed, and Thatch and Haruta were in a grumpy mood. Ace really seemed like a good guy, and hadn't done anything to prove them wrong. Thatch wondered where he was, and decided to go look for him before starting dinner. He couldn't find him anywhere before he checked the library and saw Ace sleeping on the couch, skin back to being blue. Looked like he couldn't keep that one up while sleeping.

The sound in the room was muted, meaning Ace had turned the sound off but then fell back to sleep. Thatch got a blanket off of the upstairs couch and put it over the sayla, leaving the silent room, unable to make any noise even if he wanted to. He hated that some of his brothers felt how they did.

And it couldn't be just them. There had to be a lot of people who feel the same. Sure, it was a bit weird to just accept an alien onto the ship, but the Whitebeard pirates had never done anything conventional in the first place. But Ace deserved a chance, human or not. Just like Namur had. He would do what he could to not let Ace know what some of the crew must think.

When it was dinner time, Ace walked into the galley, back to looking human, and sat at a random table. He didn't really know anybody, and the commander's table was only commanders. Thatch watched as Ace sat down at a table, and didn't react to the odd looks he was given. He seemed perfectly at ease despite the mixed reactions he had to have noticed.

But Ace was used to being around other sentient species. Maybe he was just used to being ogled at or mistrusted. It made Thatch scowl as he cooked with his sou chefs. He glanced at Ace every once in a while and found him trying to talk to those around him. He was doing his best to be social even though everyones' eyes were on him.

The commanders were either not there yet or sitting at the table, drinking some sake. Marco was watching Ace as he attempted to talk to those around him. He was doing a valiant job, but the pirates around him weren't biting. So, Ace became quiet and just sighed, changing his hands colors to pass the time. Many of the commanders that didn't approve of his presence were watching him as well, suspicious. Marco frowned deeply at it.

When Haruta entered, he avoided the commanders' table and sat right next to Ace. The sayla was a bit surprised, but smiled that someone was giving him positive attention. "So, did you like Thatch's cooking?" he asked. Ace nodded, taking a sip of the lemonade set out on the table next to many bottles of sake and wine that the pirates could choose to drink.

"It was good. It's nice trying new foods. That's something that people did a lot back home. The usual thing anyone did when visiting another planet was to try their food. No planet has the same food."

Haruta hummed. "How many planets have you visited?" he asked. Other pirates were listening in, finally showing some interest in Ace and what he was saying. Ace counted on his fingers, thinking.

"Fifteen including this planet. My solar system had more planets than yours seems to have, though it was hard to make them out when I was in space. To be honest, this planet is the most underdeveloped place I've ever been to. Both in medical and technological ways. You still have a long way to go if you're ever gonna catch up to my planet."

"What kind of things did you have that we don't?" one of the pirates that wasn't Haruta asked carefully, maybe not wanting to risk upsetting the alien. Ace smiled, and replied.

He said, "To start, your infirmary doesn't have much. And the treatment I was given was not up to par. We have salve that heals broken skin in an hour, and there are clear wraps you put around a broken limb that correct the bone over three days. Technology wise, I haven't seen a single TV or any sort of electronics that most people back home have.

"A TV is a screen that you can watch things on. You can watch videos, which are called movies. You can also listen to music from portable devices you can carry anywhere. Plus, there are airplanes instead of ships to get you places. They're like flying ships that go through the sky really fast.

"We also have communication devices that you put to your ear to talk. You can also send messages over it by typing it out. Called texting or messaging. Your kitchen is really rudimentary, too. There's no dishwasher, where the plates and silverware are washed automatically. No microwave either. It's like a mini stove you put things in to cook quickly."

"You don't have transponder snails?" Perry asked, one of those in the first division. Ace looked confused at this.

"What's that?"

Haruta replied. "It's a snail that you attach something to that calls over long distance. You'd probably think it's weird, maybe since it's attached to a living animal. Snails are used," he explained. Ace laughed.

"At my planet, that would be called animal abuse and would not be tolerated," he responded. "Who thought of using a living creature to communicate?" the pirates around him shrugged. Someone asked him about the chip in his head, if it hurt. Everyone had heard about Ace's conversation with the commanders and captain earlier. One of the commanders had to have been the one to let it slip and gossip spread rapidly on this ship.

Ace pointed to behind his ear, where the chip was. "It's inserted through surgery when you're a baby. It doesn't hurt at all or they wouldn't do it to babies, and it lets you process and respond to any language in the universe. You also can change the setting to switch to reading. So, you can look at a piece of writing in another language and the symbols will change into your own language.

"I'm not actually speaking your language right now. It's just coming out translated by the chip. I understand you like you're speaking in my own language even though I know you're not," Ace explained. "It's pretty damn helpful."

The pirates were in awe, and many of them felt jealousy at not being able to be in a place with those technological advances. Ace's world suddenly sounded so much more interesting. He spoke with the pirates all through dinner, and Thatch eventually joined in the conversation as well.

Ace was incredibly open with everyone. Many pirates stared at him, and looked away quickly when they were caught until Ace addressed the situation. "I don't mind if you stare at me. I'm an alien, of course everyone will be curious. I don't care," and he took a bite of the spaghetti and meatballs. The pirates grinned and _everyone _openly stared, Ace really seeming to not give a damn.

"Ace, can you change colors for everyone? I think that part was super cool," Haruta said. So, Ace made himself go through a rainbow of colors seamlessly, gaining everyone's attention. He eventually suddenly slammed his head into the table, unconscious. Everyone grew silent before those around him tried to wake him up, thoroughly worried. Thatch and Haruta tried getting him to wake up, but he was completely out.

It took five minutes for him to wake up again, and wiped the food off of his face. He sighed and wiped his hands with the napkin Thatch gave him. "Sorry, I have a medical condition that makes me pass out sometimes. I forgot to tell anyone." It made sense to Thatch now that he had fallen asleep. This time, as well, he had reverted back to his original blue.

After dessert, which Ace thoroughly enjoyed, he went to his new room, which had some sleep clothes for him. Marco wished him goodnight and that they'd see him in the morning. "G'night," he said, and closed the door behind him softly. Marco heard a snap of fingers and suddenly there was no sound coming from inside the room.

He passed pirates in the hall as they headed to their sleep quarters. They were talking about Ace a lot, and not all of them were good. Marco didn't scold them, they were allowed to have their own opinions as long as they weren't mean to Ace. But, many of the conversations were not bad or negative.

Ace really was a very social person, seemed like a genuinely good one. Marco hoped he'd prove the commanders wrong. That those who didn't welcome him would eat their own words. Marco was pretty sure Ace was strong. He gave off a confident aura, had a very toned and muscular body, and had a sort of gracefulness that only fighters had. Not to mention his power. It was hard not saying his "devil fruit", not used to anyone having powers when they didn't eat a cursed fruit.

The first mate had to admit he was concerned about Ace being with Haruta and Thatch alone. They could use his powers for a variety of pranks. They sure had gotten attached to him quickly. Pops also seemed pretty attached, as well. He was like that with many of those who were on the crew. Especially for Marco and Thatch.

Hopefully things would work out.

-x-

Ace laid in his new bed, staring at the wooden ceiling. He missed home. He admitted it, he didn't like this world. He didn't like hearing how violent humans were, and how under developed their species was. He wanted to listen to his music, but he hadn't brought it with him. It wouldn't be able to charge anywhere even if he did bring it.

He turned onto his side, wincing a bit from the pain in his back. The room was silent, even his tossing and turning made no noise. It took awhile for him to fall asleep, but he was grateful they at least had comfortable beds on this planet. He put his hand in front of his face, looking at the broken wristband that should be able to take him home. But here, he had no way to repair it. He sighed, and buried his face into the pillow.

He wanted to go home.

When he got up the next morning, he undid the sound nullifier and left the room, finding a new pair of shorts in front of the door. He put them on, but was still barefoot. And his back was still covered in bandages. He wished they could heal already.

The night before had been interesting. Many of the pirates were nice and friendly enough with him, even if the meal had started out rocky. None of the pirates knew he couldn't just manipulate sound. Ace also had incredibly good hearing, and could focus it on things. Choose how far he was to hear. And he heard all sorts of negative things from the pirates who hadn't been anywhere close to him.

_Freak, monster, alien, unwanted, go away, not welcome. _All words he'd heard many times the night before. Staring was acceptable and understandable, but he wasn't used to xenophobic behaviors. Humans seemed like an over all nasty species. Slaves, killing, hurting one another. And the government was bad? At least to the pirates.

He sat back down on the bed, looking down at his bare feet. He wanted to get off the ship, go outside and explore. He wasn't especially hungry, so he left his room and walked to the deck. It was very early morning, no one was awake yet. He could go explore and come back before anyone noticed he was gone. Hopefully. Though he was never told he couldn't leave the ship.

He leapt from the railing of the ship and onto the ground barefoot, landing with a soft thud. He put his good hand in his new shorts' pocket and wandered inland. He found no houses or buildings anywhere near to where the Moby Dick was docked. He was in human disguise, wandering around.

It was a nice island. Quiet and calm besides the sounds of birds and wildlife. He walked into the woods, wanting to see some of the animal species on this planet. He saw some furry creatures climbing trees with bushy tails, a big one that looked like a predator. It stared at Ace for a long minute before it scurried off. Ace didn't think he was especially intimidating, but maybe the animal could sense he was something off.

Bugs were on the trees, and Ace watched them for a while before moving on and walking further into the trees. He looked up at the sky between the canopy of leaves, remembering falling from it. He was an idiot for falling into their atmosphere. At least he hadn't died, and only had a broken arm. The sayla looked down at the cast, and frowned. This would take a while to heal without proper medical care.

He eventually found where he'd landed, and there was a big crater around the broken tree. He was still barefoot, so he avoided the area to not get splinters in his feet from the broken wood. He went to the beach, and sat on the sand, looking out at the ocean with his knees to his chest. He had a blank expression on, not really thinking about anything in particular. He poked at crabs on the sand, and they scurried away from him and back into the sand or waves. He decided he would go for a swim. It might be reckless, but this was a beach and sea kings couldn't go this shallow since they were so huge.

He didn't need to take off any shoes, so he removed the shorts and waded into the water with the underwear they'd made him. The water was cool, but not too much that it would be uncomfortable. He waded in until he was knee deep and then sat down in the waves. It was a beautiful view, endless sky in front of him.

After he got chilly, Ace left the water and dressed again after wringing the underwear out. He walked back to the ship, sand stuck to the bottoms of his feet. It was maybe an hour after sunrise when he got back to the ship. There were still no one out on deck and he ran into no one on his way to the galley, stomach grumbling.

He entered the room, but no one was cooking yet. He didn't feel comfortable going and getting food on his own, so he sat at the table and laid his upper body against it. He wondered if his friends had tried finding him. They wouldn't, but he hoped they missed him. Being unwanted and unimportant had been a real problem in his life after Luffy and Sabo got sick and passed away.

It was around fifteen minutes before a sleepy Thatch walked into the room and saw Ace, who was in his natural blue color. "Morning Ace," the head chef greeted. Ace pushed himself off the table with his good arm and said hello back. They both heard Ace's stomach growl, and Thatch chuckled.

"I'll make breakfast now. Do you always get up this early?" the human pirate asked.

"I got up two hours ago and went to the forest and then the beach for a while. I think humans need more sleep than saylas do," Ace replied. He watched from the table as Thatch got together batter for pancakes and a massive carton of eggs. Ace recognized eggs, but he didn't ever remember eating any before.

"Did you go for a swim?" Thatch asked as he multitasked with cooking different foods in bulk. Ace told him he went in the water but it wasn't much of a swim since he couldn't get his cast wet. He wished it would go away. "How do your injuries feel?"

Ace shrugged. "They don't hurt too bad, but are uncomfortable. I need new bandages I think. I don't know, I'll go see your healers later," Ace said absentmindedly. Thatch dinged a bell that the food was served and Ace got up to get some. He sat at the bar counter and not the table, and asked what each dish was. He liked all of the food, and had seconds of everything. He wondered how the pirates could sustain enough food for so many people and not need to do rations for each person.

"Are you okay?" Thatch asked when Ace sighed.

"I wish I could go home." He looked at the busted wrist band and sighed again. "But I have no way to fix this. I'm stuck here. Maybe forever." Thatch frowned in sympathy.

He flipped a pancake, and said, "I'm sorry. I can imagine this is stressful and upsetting. I hope we can make it better for you, though." Ace smiled, liking Thatch a lot. He was nice, and chipper and had been the one to save Ace and get him treatment. "You were the life of the party last night. Hopefully you make friends here."

Ace nodded. "Though I'm not surprised, a lot of your crew don't want me to be here. I understand, I'm an outsider. It still doesn't feel great."

Thatch frowned in confusion. "I didn't hear anyone saying that stuff last night when I was at your table," he said. Ace nodded, and decided he'd be truthful. He wasn't going to hide anything from anyone. He didn't want to get tangled up in lies or falsehoods. He'd be as open as he could.

"I just have better hearing than you do. They may not have been near us, but they were all around the room," Ace replied. The sayla looked at his hand that wasn't near his chest in the sling.

"Those jerks," Thatch grumbled. But Ace said he wasn't surprised. "Still, it's not a nice thing to say or act shunning like this." The alien nodded in agreement.

"Humans seem to be xenophobic. At least so far. A lot of the guys here seem like good ones, but there will always be those who don't welcome you. I'm just an easy target to dislike or mistrust. I'm not used to it being like this, though. Since our races mingle with others all the time, there's not been much talk of someone being a freak for their appearance."

Thatch apologized for his brother's behavior. "You can't do anything to change their opinions, it's up to me I guess. Though I'm not going to actively try to get people to like me. That's not how I do things. If they like me, great. If they don't, well, then that's unfortunate," he said, and took a sip of lemonade from the night before. He really liked the flavor of it.

"You're really mature for your age," Thatch said suddenly. "Though you as 20 might be different than humans at 20," he added. Ace thanked him for the compliment and people started to trickle in. Ace reigned his hearing in closer until it was only people within a closer radius that he could hear. He didn't feel like hearing being called a freak at the beginning of the day.

Ace was back in human disguise, drinking and playing with the ice in the cup with a straw. Marco walked up and asked how he slept the previous night. "Fine. At least your world has beds and couches," he replied. Then he told Marco about getting up and going off the ship for a while before coming back for breakfast.

"I wish I could still go swimming," Marco said, and then explained that devil fruit users couldn't swim, and would drown if they weren't rescued. Ace had never been a big swimmer, but he wouldn't want to risk drowning every time he came into contact with deep water. It would be uneasy.

"What about baths?" Ace wondered while Marco ate his own omelet.

Marco replied, "I just can't go in the deeper parts of the water. We have a bath here only for the devil fruit users, namely myself and Jozu, where the bath is very shallow and has a showerhead over it."

"Do a lot of pirates have devil fruits?" When Thatch nodded, Ace looked a bit confused. "So, they can't swim but are pirates?" Marco chuckled and nodded. "That's a bit stupid. Why risk your safety like that?"

Thatch said, "Pirates risk their lives every day just by being pirates. Enemy pirates, marines, the weather, the sea kings. Every day is a risk. But, in our opinions, it's all worth it. The feeling of freedom, the adventures, seeing new places. It might not be traveling to different planets, but traveling to different islands is the closest we'll be getting here on earth." Marco nodded in agreement. "Living in one place is boring as hell. There's nothing new to do. At least not here on earth."

Ace could understand not wanting to be bored and stay in one place. He enjoyed traveling, too, only his world was completely different than this one. There were no such things as pirates. It really was getting thrown into a whole nother world. Like some fiction story. But if he stayed here, with the pirates, then he'd be risking his life every day as well.

He didn't particularly want to risk dying every moment, but he would no doubt get incredibly bored staying in one place on this planet. He still had time to think about it. So far, he was torn. For many reasons.

"So, you should go get your wounds checked out by the nurses," Marco said once he finished his food. Ace wiped his face with the napkin and drank the rest of his lemonade and went to go to the infirmary and see the nurses who'd done their best to heal him. He looked down at the cast and scowled. He wasn't looking forward to wearing this thing for so long.

When he arrived at the infirmary, he knocked on the open doorway. No one was inside, so he slowly walked in, and said, "Hello?" Almost immediately, a black haired female human walked out, and introduced herself as Tami.

"Are you here to get your injuries checked out?" she asked in a pleasant voice. He nodded, and she led him to a bed, different than the one he'd woken up in. The one he'd used had no sheets on it, probably gone to get cleaned. Ace assumed they did it by hand since they had no appliances to do it. How time consuming.

Being here almost made him feel his solar system was lazy with their electronics. Well, they were more advanced, of course they'd take advantage of that. The sayla sat on the bed and stayed still as Tami checked over his back, pulling the loosened bandages off, dotted with blood. "You should probably take a shower before I redo the dressing. If you're uncomfortable with using any of the public bathhouses for obvious reasons, there's one for patients around the corner," Tami explained. Ace nodded and stood up, following her to the small bathroom, whose door he locked.

He looked at the shower heads, undressed, and attempted to figure out how they worked. Back at home, there was a single button on the wall that would start the shower. Press a button to make the water hotter or cooler. This one was simple, a handle that he twisted to the side that was red, meaning it was the hot direction.

The showerhead squealed before water started flowing out. He got the nearest shampoo and soap, washing himself and looking at the far wall. There was no shower door or curtain. Anyone could walk in and see him naked. Ace didn't know what naked humans looked like, but he doubted he looked like one where it counted. Well, his face and figure looked identical to a humans, maybe his privates were the same, too. He wasn't exactly going to ask what the humans looked like naked.

When his hair was washed, he rinsed himself off one last time and turned the handle to shut off the water. He dried off in the fluffy towel and put his clothes back on. He walked out of the small bathroom and went back to the bed and sat down. Tami walked over and inspected his back before dressing it as it was clean and not irritated at all. The cast was still perfectly fine, so there was no reason to check on that.

"How long do I have to wear this?" Ace questioned, meaning the cast.

"Six weeks at least. 42 days or more. It was an incredibly severe break," Tami replied. Ace's face fell. He didn't want his arm to be useless for that long. "Be grateful you didn't die from that fall and only got a broken arm." Ace had to agree with that.

"Are you more comfortable with me here now than when I first arrived?" he asked, not wanting to talk about the cast anymore. Wanting to forget about how damn long it was going to take. Tami looked awkward. "Is it cause I've made myself look more human?"

The nurse fidgeted before nodding. Ace looked down. He didn't exactly hate being in this disguise, but it was unsettling to see his skin in this color. Felt like he wasn't in his own body, he was someone else. Back at home, no one thought twice about his skin color. Families had different shades of colors. His happened to be blue with white blemishes.

"It's fine, I understand," Ace said when he saw Tami look guilty. She nodded, but still looked uncomfortable. "Can I leave now?" He was discharged and walked back to his room, wanting a shirt, even if he didn't get cold easily.

He walked through the halls, going to the library to find a story to read. He was so bored here. There was nothing to do and he didn't have any real friends. He didn't want to distract the commanders from their duties. When he got to the library, there were people inside, some on the couch he'd taken the day before. He went upstairs to the other couches and pulled out a fiction book to read on the couch.

Someone had covered him with a blanket the day before when he'd fallen asleep, and he assumed it was one of the three who trusted him most. Haruta, Marco or Thatch. It had made him happy. Those three seemed to really like him, and a few of the other commanders seemed nice enough. Ace would need to build up trust to be accepted, but he didn't know what he could do and didn't particularly want to try and win the humans' affections.

It was a nice feeling to be liked, but he'd learned a long time ago that trying to get someone to like you when they didn't wasn't a pleasant thing to have to do. He'd made friends, but only ones he didn't need to try too hard to get along with. Those friends just fit with him naturally. He really missed them, but was glad he had no family to miss.

If Sabo and Luffy were still alive and this happened, things would be exponentially worse. He would be missing them painfully. Though he hadn't visited their trees for a while, he wished he still had the option to do so. Well, there was no point in wallowing. It would do no good and get him nowhere.

Relaxing into the plush couch, Ace lost himself in the book, not turning the sound off since there were other people around. When he looked down at the book, he was often startled by his hands' colors. The skin tone was quite boring. He missed going around in his real color, but it was best to do it like this. At least for now.

He only left the library when lunch time had come, and he saw it on the clock on the wall. Thatch had told him what time meals were on earth. He put the book back onto the shelf, memorizing the page number to read again later. He walked down the hall with other pirates heading to lunch.

"Just because he looks human doesn't mean he is," Ace heard a man a few yards behind him say.

"C'mon, Joel, he's a nice guy. Namur isn't a human and we all like him, right?" someone the other guy was talking to said. Ace extended the range of his hearing to hear their conversation more clearly. Wondering how the argument would turn out.

The negative pirate scoffed and said, "Namur doesn't pretend to be human. This alien freak just looks human to catch us off guard."

The more positive man sighed. "He does that to make us comfortable around him. Besides, he never got mad at us for staring and answers all of our questions honestly. Don't you think he'd lie about his powers if he was a threat to us and we might retaliate against him? He put trust in us, so we should put it in him, too. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty," Lee said. The other man said nothing back, and Ace reeled in his hearing range.

He was glad someone stuck up for him, but the other guy didn't exactly make him feel welcome or trusted. But, the moment he heard the planet had not interacted with others, Ace knew they'd be wary of him. The sayla didn't like it much, but he understood.

Lunch was sandwiches that they made up themselves. Ace didn't know what most of the ingredients tasted like, so he took the pieces and tasted them before building a sandwich. He ended up using tomato, roast beef and some cheese. Ace looked around and noticed how many toppings some pirates put in. Like the sandwiches was near bursting. The bigger members had larger sandwiches, while those Ace's size had smaller ones.

He ate his slowly, enjoying the taste. The commanders weren't sitting next to him this time, but he was sitting around the same people as the last time he ate when the galley was full, and these pirates seemed nice and talked to him more now.

Ace almost was knocked out, but was able to slowly rest his head down instead of slamming into his empty plate. He didn't need more injuries that wouldn't heal quickly. A few people laughed, but Ace wasn't awake to hear it.

When he woke up, most of the humans were still there, meaning he hadn't been out very long. "Hey, Ace, do you not have treatment for that disorder?" Yunja, the guy who sat directly next to Ace, asked.

"I had pills back at home that stopped it, but they couldn't cure it even with advanced medical equipment and advances. But I don't have the pills anymore, so I pass out. When I was out in space, it didn't happen to me since my body shut down out there," Ace explained simply. He was then asked how he was able to function in space. "Most of the body completely shuts down all of its functions. So I don't digest anything or grow hungry, and don't need to breathe so I don't suffocate. And sayla's bodies are more durable than any of our galaxy's species."

"That's why you only had a broken arm from falling to earth?" Yunja questioned, and Ace nodded. "A human would have been a splat."

Ace said, "Then I'm glad I'm not human. Mind if I ask why one of the commanders doesn't look like any of you humans?" Namur looked nothing like any of the pink or tanned skin humans on the ship. He was pale blue and had very different facial features and a different body type. He hadn't wanted to ask the guy directly and risk offending him.

Perry answered. "Commander Namur is a fishman. They have sea life attributes and live in the ocean. He's the only fishman on our crew." Ace nodded, thinking it was interesting. Then he asked how humans reacted to them. "Not good. Many humans are pretty prejudiced about fishmen and merfolk. Celestial Dragons have them as slaves. Mermaids are after kidnapped and sold. That's why fishmen hate humans." Ace frowned. Humans seemed like they held a lot of hatred in their hearts. Well, if they had two hearts. Ace did, but he didn't know if any of the others did.

"That's messed up," Ace replied. He adjusted his arm in the sling a bit to hang lower. He had a shirt on now with the bandages on under it. He still didn't have any shoes, and no one had seemed to notice it. At least no one had stepped on his toes. It probably wouldn't hurt, but he wasn't sure how much humans weighed. Maybe they were incredibly heavy. He didn't know.

Those around the sayla nodded. It was messed up indeed. Ace was truly unimpressed with the way humans seemed to treat each other when they weren't friends. And though he understood why they would be wary of him, it still annoyed him that some of the humans were so closed off to anything new. At least, any_one _new. He wondered if Namur was completely welcome here.

Whitebeard seemed like a very accepting person, but that wasn't the case for everyone else. He wasn't going to ask if any of the crew didn't like Namur, though.

After lunch was finished, Ace headed outside to look at the ocean. He wished he could fly and see it from above. But he didn't have a cool power like Marco did. He saw something big and long jump out of the water in the distance and thought it must be a sea king due to its size.

Becoming bored quickly, he went inside and to the training room to get a better look at it. Might as well do some exercising. Even if he couldn't use his arm, he still had legs he could train. There were two other people in there, sparring with each other. Ace discretely watched them, and saw they were clumsy. He wondered if humans were inherently weak. He hadn't seen any of them show strength. Maybe they weren't strong. He turned away from the two and headed to a huge thing he assumed was some kind of punching bag. This world had a lot of similarities, though more differences, to home. Even if humans and those from his solar system had never met.

He stood in front of the black punching bag, poking it to see if it was thick. It was. He lifted a leg and kicked it as hard as he could. He was startled when it was thrown off of its chain connected to the ceiling, cut clean in half with sand spilled everywhere. He looked at it and swore, really not expecting that it was so delicate. He'd ruined it completely, but at least he could see there were other bags.

Though, it was now clear he would be unable to use equipment here. He turned around to see the two pirates who were sparring staring at him with wide eyes. "It was an accident. I didn't know it was so flimsy," Ace said. "I'll clean it up."

The humans lost their shocked faces and the smaller of the two said, "I'll go get you a broom and trash bag."

"Thank you." The man hurried out to go get whatever a broom was. The other man approached him and looked at the wrecked piece of equipment.

"You're pretty strong. Are all of your kind like this?" Ace nodded, but then said he trained more than most saylas so he was a bit stronger. The man looked interested. "I don't think Pops will get mad at you for breaking it. It was an accident."

Ace didn't know what Pops meant, but he assumed it was someone important on the crew. So he asked. "What's a pops?" he questioned.

Since it was a human term, it translated but he didn't recognize the word since it seemed to be a slang term for a real word. At least, that's what he thought. "We call Whitebeard 'Pops'. It's another word for 'father'. He's our captain, but we're also his sons. He considers us his family."

"So you're all considered siblings?" Ace asked before the original guy came back in with the broom and a trash bag.

"Exactly. Brothers, and sisters with the nurses. Though it's mostly men on the crew. Women aren't strong enough to be pirates." Ace couldn't help but snort. At his planet, that would be considered a very rude and wrong thing to say or think. The guy looked confused as Ace started sweeping up the tons of sand.

Ace filled the trash bag and said, "Sorry, it's just on my planet women are able to do things men are. Have the same tasks, jobs, skills. They wouldn't take kindly to that kind of attitude."

"You're planet sure is different than ours," he said. "My name is Nick, by the way. I'm part of the third division," he said, and Ace shook his hand when he put it out. Ace replied with a "nice to meet you". "Let me help you out."

Ace thanked him as he held the trash bag out for Ace to sweep it inside. The other guy helped out too, picking up the empty punching bag and put it in the corner to throw out when they could. "You know, you're a nice guy even if some of the crew doesn't like you," Nick said.

"_Nick!" _the other pirate scolded.

Ace shook his head. "I already knew they felt like that. I can hear what they say, and it's to be expected to be honest. I'm very different than anything anyone here knows. Though there doesn't seem to be much difference intelligence wise between my kind and yours. We just have powers without devil fruits and are different colors."

Mika, the second man who had gotten Ace the broom and bag, said, "Maybe if you stay longer they'll like you more. That's how it was with commander Namur." Ace nodded, knowing that would probably be the most likely outcome. He was probably going to stay out of convenience. Maybe he'd enjoy living here someday, but it was a definite downstep from his previous life. But, he was good at adapting. He should get used to it fairly quickly.

Once everything was cleaned up, Ace tied the trash bag and Nick carried the punching bag out. There was no trash or anything to burn, so they apparently dumped their trash in the ocean. Another thing that wouldn't fly back at home. Some people looked at the two strangely by what they were carrying as they made their way outside.

The sayla and human ran into one of the commanders Ace hadn't met personally. He was very big and had a grumpy face, tan skin, and yellow hair. He glared at Ace while he asked what had happened. Ace kept direct eye contact, knowing this guy must not like him.

"I kicked the punching bag and it broke. We cleaned up everything, and we're going to go dump them," Ace answered.

"Commander Kingdew, Ace is super strong. He cut it in half with one kick!" Nick said enthusiastically. The commander looked surprised, and Ace took slight offense for him clearly thinking he would be weak. He didn't _look_ weak, with a lot of muscle. And he wasn't exactly short. Maybe it was just because he seemed young.

He left without a word, and Ace and Nick walked outside. "He sure doesn't like me," Ace commented. Nick nodded in agreement. It had been very clear.

Nick and Ace tossed the objects into the water, where they both floated for a second before sinking slowly down into the deep water. "Commander Kingdew glares at everyone anyways, though. He's inherently grumpy in my opinion." Ace leaned against the railing, facing Nick.

Ace was bummed that the punching bag was so fragile, wondering if humans were like that, too. He might be hated if he injured any of them. "People might start getting afraid of me. How I'm stronger than I look in most ways. Are the commanders as fragile as that punching bag?" Ace would be sad if he was unable to spar with anyone on the ship. Their bodies were frailer compared to Ace's, just by knowing none of them would survive that fall that Ace had.

"The commanders are very strong, but if they turn out to not be enough, Jozu and Marco would be able to take hard hits. Marco can heal himself if you end up making a good hit, and Jozu can turn into diamond and protect himself against any damage. Though kicking him might break your leg."

"Remember, I fell from space and survived. I think I can handle striking some stone," Ace replied. He wanted to spar with Marco. He'd never fought with someone who could heal like that. He'd probably not win because of that, but it still sounded fun. And he could see Marco fly, though it would make Ace disadvantaged.

Nick nodded and said that was true. "Well, I'm going to go back to training with Mika. it was nice talking to you." Ace thanked him for the help, and then sunk down until he was sitting against the wooden railing. Was Ace now going to be considered even more a threat? He hoped not, since he wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone.

Eventually, Haruta came out, and spotted Ace and hurried over. "Hey, Ace, I heard about the punching bag thing. Are you really that strong?" he asked, and sat across from the sayla. Ace shrugged.

"To the punching bag I am. Don't know how I'd do against humans, but now I'm a bit worried I'll hurt someone if I try sparring," Ace said honestly.

Haruta looked up, and said, "You could probably go against Jozu and Marco. They're the strongest commanders." Ace nodded, and said Nick already told him. Haruta changed the subject quickly, going onto a completely other topic.

"So, can you change the color of your hair, too?" he asked in interest, still enthralled that Ace was from a completely different world. Ace preferred this treatment to those who thought he was a freak for being from another world. Ace shook his head. He couldn't change the color of his hair since it was mostly dead. He couldn't control his hair like that.

"I can only change my skin and eyes," Ace finished. Haruta hummed, and continued to ask Ace questions about his differences. Eventually, Marco came over and sat down next to him against the railing.

Haruta was quiet, knowing Marco came over for a reason. Ace looked at him curiously, waiting for the question he was no doubt going to be asked. "Ace, how good is your hearing?" he asked quietly. Ace took the hint and replied quietly as well.

Ace could extend his hearing to over a mile, but doing it that far confused him and gave him a headache. "Pretty good. Depends on how far I want to hear. I've never really used it much after I finished school. I used to eavesdrop on people. I was a little brat. Not like that anymore, though," he made sure to say. It was the truth, and he didn't want Marco or Haruta to think that he listened in on private conversations. He didn't do that anymore.

"So you can change how far you hear? Willingly?" Ace nodded. "Thatch said you heard some of the crew say some not-so-nice stuff. I'm sorry you heard that. It's not a good feeling to be called a freak or abnormal. Devil fruit users in the seas where they are not common are often ostracized."

Ace shrugged. "I just don't let my hearing get too far anymore here. It's easier to process what's going on around me when my hearing is not extended a good distance. Crap-" Ace suddenly said, feeling a sleep attack approaching, and he passed out. Marco caught him before he fell over and leaned the sayla against the railing again. Ace turned back to his natural blue with white spots. Like looking at the night sky.

He woke up only a few minutes later, and changed back into human form. His cheeks burned and turned a bright blue. He'd fallen asleep during a conversation. It was always embarrassing because people always thought it was hilarious. It wasn't to him, losing control of his body, and sometimes not even knowing he was about to pass out.

Haruta chuckled. "You blush blue?" Ace didn't know that, since he'd never been in this skin color.

"I guess so," Ace replied as the blue faded. It wasn't very subtle. "Do humans not blush blue?" Haruta shook his head and said that they blushed a light pink or light red. "So a lot less noticeable than blue?" The two pirates nodded. Ace pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

Since Ace didn't have his hearing extended, he didn't hear a whooshing of waves that didn't sound like normal waves crashing on the beach.

* * *

**So, Ace's home world is basically a utopia. Similar to our world but everyone is kind and treated equally, no war, and the technology and medical equipment is very advanced. Polar opposite of the One Piece world, where the government is corrupt, murder and slavery is very often, sexism is very active, and the technology is pretty lackluster. And those in Ace's solar system are much more welcoming and open to other species, definitely not like humans. This story involves quite a bit of human-bashing lol. **


	3. Cruel Plotting

**blueflamegoddess: Lol, love blue buddies! Some stuff happens regarding Ace battling, but it has to be a surprise! I don't want to spoil it. It will be a surprise I think. Teach will come into the story later and stuff will happen, so look forward to it!**

**Tutubui7: Yeah, and there's more racism and discrimination in this chapter. Poor Ace. And don't worry about me dropping it, I finished it completely before starting to post it! So the story will be finished, don't worry.**

* * *

**So, more angst in this chapter. You might end up hating some of the characters for good reason. Poor Ace. Enjoy~**

* * *

Those on the ship with haki stood up and looked over the side to see a marine vessel coming closer. It was probably not that they had been following the Whitebeards since they had been docked at this place for days. They would have come sooner. And there were no people that lived on this island so no one could have called them and told them about the pirates being docked there.

Pirates ran inside to get their weapons, and Ace looked like he had no idea what was going on. "Some marines are coming to pick a fight with us. We usually fight them off and dispatch them, sometimes destroying their ships."

Ace didn't look too excited about it, and Marco knew based on some of the things Ace said that there wasn't much violence on his planet. "You want to go inside or stay out here?" the phoenix zoan asked. "I think you can defend yourself even with a broken arm, but you don't have to."

Ace thought for a moment. "The marines are the ones that attack civilians and keep slaves?" Marco shook his head and explained that the marines only were the lapdogs of those who kept slaves. Ace seemed to be incredibly off-put with the slaves topic. He stood up and cracked his neck.

"I don't especially want to fight anyone, but I'll be willing to destroy their ship. If none of them are on it anymore. If that's okay," Ace replied. Marco nodded, knowing he'd use that shock wave, and he wanted to see how powerful it could be. After all, they'd only seen him break apart a small candle. Would his power break even seastone? Seastone was incredibly dense and durable, which was part of why it was used as a restraint.

Marines boarded the ship, and the fight broke out. Ace had moved to be standing on the cabin, watching them fight. He didn't recognize the guns based on the surprised look on his face. Though he knew they weren't good news. After that, he sat down and watched until most of the marine ship was empty. Pops wasn't fighting, but watching his children calmly. He enjoyed watching them happily battle against enemies. But right now, the captain was watching the only one on the ship that wasn't one of his sons.

Ace walked back a bit, to the backside of the cabin, before he sprinted across it and took a running jump and landed on the marine ship with a heavy thud. Whitebeard watched as Ace stood in the middle of the deck and everyone was silent when the entire ship exmploded into little pieces, making wood debris land a bit on the Moby Dick.

The marines started shouting, and Ace jumped back onto the Moby as the marine ship began to sink into the water. Even the seastone bottom was broken. He calmly walked inside after that, having no other reason to fight.

Whitebeard smirked at it. Ace was pretty strong, even if he seemed quite peaceful so far. The captain had seen his disgusted expression when he heard of humans' violence with one another and fishman. And he didn't recognize guns, meaning it was one less similarity of earth to his planet.

The fight ended predictably, all of the marines dead or injured, and then thrown into the ocean with no vessel to climb on. They were stranded on the island now. And the Whitebeards wouldn't let the stragglers get on again, even if they continued to stay docked.

Whitebeard had decided they'd push back the date they were leaving in case Ace decided he didn't want to stay with the pirates. He'd been told about the punching bag incident. Ace's kind were peaceful, but incredibly strong. Though, if they were all that strong, then they wouldn't exactly have much competition. But here, Ace was like a superhuman. It was interesting and the captain thought Ace would make a great addition to the family.

He was friendly and open with everyone on board, honestly answering all of their curious questions and not being offended when people stared at him. He really didn't seem like the kind of person to suddenly kill or beat someone. He had a nice personality and seemed to be a very social person, even if he had left everyone else to go read in the library a few times.

Whitebeard could see Ace could be a commander if he stayed. He had the right personality and was a skilled fighter, or at least had the potential to be. Though he knew many of the commanders would not accept him, just like with Namur. But, that was a while in the future if Ace _did _join.

Marco kicked the last marine off the ship, and then walked to Pops. "What should we do about them?" Whitebeard looked at the still alive marines and watched as they got onto land, and just ran like chickens. None of them were very brave, and their captain had been killed and dumped into the ocean. Well, that's what happens when you attack the Whitebeard pirates.

"Though I doubt any of them have the balls to board the ship again, I think that we should move the ship away from the coast during the night, just as a precaution." Then he grinned. "Did you see Ace?"

Marco nodded. "He wasn't exactly hard to miss. I'm surprised he was able to jump from the cabin to the warship's deck. And that sound wave is really dangerous, but he had enough control that it didn't harm our ship, despite being fairly close." Whitebeard nodded in agreement, having thought of that as well.

"Well, when you've had the ability your whole life, someone should be able to completely master it, unlike when people eat devil fruits at an older age. I'd like to see Ace spar with you, as he said he sparred with his brothers when they were still around. Though he seems like he wouldn't enjoy real violence. Most likely why he didn't fight, even if he knew the marines are bad. Well, we think they're bad."

"He needs shoes," Marco said. The captain chuckled. "I'm gonna tell Izo to make some, since there are no shoe stores anywhere near," the first mate explained. Whitebeard nodded. Marco turned to face the captain again, and made sure no one was listening in. "Do you think Ace being strong will be detrimental to his welcoming? I've heard more than one person call him a real liability."

Whitebeard sighed. He wished his sons would look at Ace's strength as a good thing. An added help to the ship. Though, if he didn't like violence then he might just be the designated ship-destroyer. Would Ace even be a good pirate? Well, they'd see. Like his son had said, no one is born a pirate.

Later that day, Whitebeard was still on deck and Ace was still inside somewhere, Atmos and Kingdew approached him. He had a feeling he knew why, since both of them were strongly against having Ace on the ship, even though many of their brothers liked him, and Ace had been a good person so far. "What is it, sons?" he asked, in a pleasant voice. He may not agree with his son's opinions, but it was their right to have them as long as they didn't affect the subject.

"Ace is a liability, Pops," Atmos said simply, getting straight to the point.

"Because of his physical strength or ability?"

"Both."

Whitebeard sighed, and said, "He doesn't have a predisposition to violence. He didn't come from a world like ours. He even refused to fight the marines, even though they were the enemy. I think he will not be a liability. He has control over his powers quite well. In the infirmary, he used a sound wave to destroy a candle, limiting the range of it so that nothing else around him was damaged," Whitebeard replied.

"He can't control his strength, Pops. He destroyed the punching bag by accident," Kingdew said. Whitebeard could see that point, but he also knew that Ace hadn't known his strength was disproportional here than it was back at his home.

"We do not know that. It was an accident, and a good one since he now knows that he's stronger than many of us are. But, we will see once he decides to spar with our strongest. We can observe and then form opinions after that," the captain replied. "I know you two are coming from a place of care for our safety, but I had thought you had more faith in my and Marco's judgement." Kingdew and Atmos looked guilty then.

Atmos said, "We don't doubt your judgement, Pops. We just all know you grow attached to new things you have never seen before. We want the ship to be safe and not risk upsetting the alien-"

"His name is Ace and I'd like you to not say that when speaking about him," Whitebeard said sternly. "If you can't use his name, use his proper term: sayla. I'm not sure, but calling someone like that sounds incredibly disrespectful. What if you called Namur 'fishman'? Do you think he'd appreciate that?" Whitebeard was growing irritated with this conversation. His sons were not believing anything the captain was saying. Ace would just have to prove them wrong.

Atmos apologized, and said he wouldn't call Ace that again. "Don't you know how many of your brothers destroy parts of our ship on accident? How Kale had accidentally broken one of the porthole windows and flooded that room? Compared to a punching bag, I think that your brothers have caused more damage than that."

"But-"

"The conversation is over. Give Ace a fair chance. If he hurts anyone intentionally, then he will leave. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty," Whitebeard said forcefully. Like Ace, he could understand their hesitance at first, but Ace had done nothing suspicious since Thatch brought him.

Atmos and Kingdew sulked away, and Whitebeard sighed before taking a large drink of his sake. Ace really seemed like a nice person, and he acted and sounded human, even if he said he's not actually speaking their language. He was probably smarter in some ways than all humans. Based on how developed he said his planet was.

Whitebeard hoped a pirate's life wasn't too boring for him. Though, there really was nothing more interesting than exploring new places, at least to the captain.

-x-

Ace was trying to read in the library, wanting it to be nice and calm and quiet, but humans had come in and were pestering Ace for questions about him or his experiences or his home. He was irritated, wanting to read his book in silence. They were all so loud that Ace turned the volume of his hearing down so he could only hear the people nearest.

He wasn't rude, and answered their questions. They didn't seem to understand his body language or tone of voice. He wanted to be left alone, but none of them were getting that. His voice was flat as he answered, looking down at the book every few seconds, trying hard to give them the hint. There were ten of them crowded around his couch or sitting in front of it.

Someone came and saved him, though, so he didn't need to tell them to go away and risk being seen as a jackass. Many of the crew already didn't want him, being a jerk would not help. Izo walked in, and said, "You idiots, do you not see the book in his lap? If he wanted to talk, he would have closed the book. Leave him alone and let him read in quiet." The pirates looked at Ace sheepishly, and got up to leave.

Izo was carrying new shoes, boots like Ace had asked Marco, and handed them to him. Ace grinned and thanked him. He was tired of being barefoot. There was a sock in each boot and he gladly put the shoes on. "Thanks for making them go away. I didn't want to be rude. People already don't like me. Best not to make it worse," Ace said gratefully.

Izo pushed a strand of hair out of his face, and said, "The crew is full of idiots. Don't let them walk all over you. If you want to be left alone, tell them that. Don't be an ass about it, but stick up for yourself." Ace nodded, though it would make people think he was rude. Though, if he stayed, he didn't want people to think they could walk all over him.

"Well, I'll leave you to your book. If you need anything, you can ask me. I, for one, support your presence here," the femenine looking man said, and turned around to leave. Ace did go back to his book, though it was hard to concentrate on it. He muted the area around him, but that just made him more lost in his thoughts.

When he was walking through the hall to get to the library, he had avoided turning a corner after hearing pirates complain to a commander about his presence. "Pops likes him, so he's staying for now. I like it as much as you do, but I trust Pop's judgement enough to think he knows what's right. We'll just hope the alien slips up and has to leave." Ace had sighed and turned around and walked the other direction, downcast. He missed home, missed being in a place where people were more accepting of each other.

The sayla knew that the pirates didn't know it, but calling someone "alien" was a disrespectful slur back home. He hated it, but was determined that he wouldn't slip up and give them the satisfaction. They should at least take him somewhere he could live. This island was completely empty.

Ace got up and returned the fiction book he'd been attempting to read, and instead looked for any history books about this world. He found the section easily, and saw there were many texts about world history. He took all six of them and carried them to his couch with his one arm, before starting to read. It would take a while, but he needed to use these resources while he still could. He wanted to learn politics, more than just "marines suck, pirates are better".

He didn't get up for a long time, not even leaving for lunch. He didn't notice the time, and he didn't exactly have anything to remind him it was time for food. The sayla finished the first book in under an hour, which was about how the government of this planet was formed. It didn't have much other than that, so he moved onto the next one, about devil fruits. He had been very curious about them. Some of them were downright stupid. Who wants to turn into a jacket for someone else to wear? It sounded more creepy than it did useful.

After lunch time was over, Thatch entered the library, and saw Ace reading on the couch. "Hey, Ace. You okay? You missed lunch." Ace looked up, and looked at his wrist only to remember he didn't have his watch.

"I didn't even notice. Sorry, I'm trying to read up on how this planet works. It's even more different than I thought at first. Not just the way the science and tech is almost non-existent, but the way the government functions," Ace said, before he noticed the little bag that was in Thatch's hand. "What's that?"

Thatch sat down on the chair next to his couch. "Leftovers from lunch. It would have been better warm, though." Ace took the bag and found a little container with grilled chicken and white stuff he was told was rice.

"You didn't have to bring it to me," Ace said, though he was grateful and thanked the chef. So far, Thatch was by far his favorite out of the pirates. Marco was second. Thatch was just a friendly guy.

"I don't like my friends or family being hungry when I can do something about it," Thatch replied, waving off Ace's comment. "Have things been better today?"

Ace looked down and took another bite of the food that was brought to him. Rice was alright, but it tasted good with whatever sauce was on it. Thatch was a good cook, not that Ace knew what badly cooked human food tasted like.

"It's been alright. Walked upon a conversation I didn't like hearing," Ace said truthfully. He felt he could be more honest with Thatch than anyone else so far. He was the one that took Ace to safety even though he was clearly not human. He seemed like an incredibly kind person. Ace strived to be that kind.

"What did they say?" Thatch asked in concern. Ace told him the truth.

He sighed and poked at the biggest piece of chicken with his fork before eating it. Thatch was patient with Ace's silence. He didn't want to seem like he thought the pirates were awful or mean. But Thatch didn't seem like the kind of guy that would get mad about something like that.

"Some guys were talking to a commander. They didn't want me here. Whoever the commander was told them he wanted me gone as much as they did. And that they could just hope for me to slip up and kicked off the ship. Also called me 'the alien', which at my home is a derogatory slur. Meaning someone who doesn't belong and should get out of their sight. I know they didn't know what that means to me, but it's still hard to hear that, y'know? I don't know if me staying here is gonna work out," Ace finished. Thatch was scowling, but Ace felt he wasn't angry at the sayla, but his own brothers.

"That's messed up. I'm sorry you heard that. And I'll let everyone know to not call you alien. You might be one to us, but we wouldn't want to insult you like that. Can they call you a sayla, if they really don't want to say your name?" He was clearly furious, but keeping it reigned in for Ace's comfort.

Ace nodded. "Sayla is better than alien. It's not ideal, but it's fine. I'm proud to be a sayla, but my name would be preferred." He finished the food and then said, "Sorry I sound depressed." Thatch sighed.

He took the now empty container and sealed the lid and put it back in the bag, setting it down on the end table where Ace's stack of unread books was. "It's not wrong to feel sad. You've lost any way to go back to your home, and are on an unknown planet and now people are saying mean things. I'd be more than sad. I'd be utterly depressed and wishing to go home every second of every day." Ace shrugged.

"It's fine," he insisted. "I'll be fine. I don't want to be on my own in such an unfamiliar world, but I also don't want to walk in on or overhear conversations at my expense that aren't nice." He leaned back in his chair and looked around the room. While many things were similar to his own planet, humans treated one another badly. Ace knew as a species, they'd never welcome any visitors from other planets.

Thatch sighed. "Good thing is that a lot of people like you so far. There will always be people who dislike you. There are some of my brothers here who don't like me much. I don't take it personally and let the majority change my emotions. So, I know there are more here that like me than dislike me, and that's enough to deal with those who find my childishness annoying. Though they probably don't like me pouring buckets of paint on them." He said it with a cheeky grin, like he was proud of pissing people off with paint. "If you stay, you could help me with pranks~" Thatch finished in a sing-song voice.

"And make those who dislike already dislike me more?" Ace asked, though his voice was light. Thatch shrugged. Luffy used to attempt pranks on Ace and Sabo but usually messed them up so it backfired on him. Once, he'd lit his shorts on fire when he tried pouring wax on Sabo while the candle was still lit. He'd been five, so they couldn't get too mad at him, though he wasn't allowed near anything that could light a flame after that for two years. Until he got sick with Sabo and died. Not a single one of his pranks had ever worked out.

"My brother would have really liked you," Ace said, thinking of Luffy.

"What were they like?" Thatch asked. It was a harmless question, but Ace didn't want to think about them when he was already stressed and upset. He didn't want to get depressed thinking about his brothers and wishing they were here with him.

"I'm sorry, I don't really want to talk about that right now," Ace said a bit awkwardly.

Thatch nodded, and didn't seem offended. "You don't need to apologize for not wanting to talk about something upsetting. If you don't want to talk about it, say you don't want to talk about it. It's that simple," the chef said.

Ace nodded, though he was used to apologizing before declining anything. After his brothers were gone, Ace was brought to a new unit, where homeless children went until they were adopted by someone. While his carers had not been aggressive, they had not liked when he told them a no, and he was often glared at for it. That he was disobeying. After he started apologizing before saying no, they let it slide more. It was just natural to him now, after years of having to apologize, to do so. Though, even though he had tried not to say no, they still dismissed and ignored him.

He didn't need to go into detail about that with Thatch, who was a nice guy but still a near-stranger. "I always apologize before declining something. It's normal, you're not special," the young man said. Thatch gave a sad look, but didn't question Ace on _why _he said that.

"Well, I'm sure those history books are boring, so I'll tell you some stories from our adventures," he offered with a grin.

"You're sure you're not going to tell me stories to try and convince me to stay?" Ace asked, though he had a smile on. It was hard so far to be upset with Thatch, a child in a man's body. Thatch laughed.

"Maybe, but you're still gonna listen," Thatch replied, and jumped into a story about being stranded in the calm belt and lassoing a sea king to drag them out of that sea.

The chef told Ace all about that adventure, and the sayla listened with a small smile. He could see becoming good friends with Thatch. Maybe it was because the man reminded Ace of his brother, but not so much that it upset him. Just enough to give Ace a warm and familiar feeling.

-x-

"Maarccooooo," Thatch whined after dinner. "We have to keep himmmm." Marco shoved Thatch off of him, who was hugging around his legs like he was begging. They were in the galley, cleaning up the room after everyone had left after dinner was finished.

Marco sighed, and started wiping down the next table while Thatch began sweeping again with a pout. "I know he's a good kid but we're not forcing him to stay. Hopefully, now that everyone knows not to say alien, things might get better for him."

Thatch grumbled. "Marco, he's so adorable. I love him! We have to keep him forever and ever!" he shouted angrily. After their little talk, Ace falling asleep in the middle, Thatch thought he'd never seen anything as adorable as a napping Ace. Marco sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

The phoenix thought Ace was nice and adorable as well, but he hadn't clicked with him like Thatch seemed to have. He'd been whining for the last half an hour about making everyone be nice to Ace so he'd stay. "Thatch, he's not a pet."

"He's like an adorable little space kitten." Marco snorted at that.

"I don't think Ace would appreciate that. Not that he knows what kittens are," the first mate responded, wiping down the last of the last table, while Thatch finished sweeping. "It would be nice to keep him and show him all sorts of new things. I do hope he'll find something about living on this planet as pleasant." Thatch nodded in agreement, and returned the broom and sponges back to the closet near the large walkin freezer in the kitchen.

The two left the room and they both walked past the library, Thatch peeking inside and seeing Ace reading another history book, looking tired. Thatch mouthed "little space kitten" to Marco, who laughed as he walked past. "Acey-chan, you look pretty tired. Should you go to bed?" Ace looked up and snapped his fingers on is good hand. Apparently he hadn't heard what Thatch had said, and maybe that was a good thing. Marco snickered.

"Sorry, what did you say?" he asked.

"Go to bed. You look exhausted," Thatch said, wisely leaving "Acey-chan" out of it. Ace sighed and closed the book, putting a piece of paper to mark the spot and left his stack of books on the little table. He turned the lamp off and walked out of the library.

"See you tomorrow," Ace said with a yawn and walked in the opposite direction to go to his guest bedroom. The two watched his back before he turned the corner. The two headed out to deck to help organize moving the ship so marines on the island couldn't get on in the middle of the night, even though there was always someone on watch.

They lowered the sails and rose the anchor before carefully moving the ship just as the daylight started to fade into the night sky. They were a little ways away from the island for during the night, just to be safe you could never be too safe about things like this. Just one stupid/cocky marine sneaking on could be bad for someone if they were unlucky and were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Thatch wished there were books for _them _to read about _Ace's _planet. So they'd know if Ace accepted physical attention, if he could ever get sick, just everything they didn't know about him. Finding out from him would be time consuming and possibly annoying. Izo and Thatch both observe that, though Ace was social, he was a bit awkward in a way. And not just because they were humans and he was not.

They were still strangers, and there were so many of them, all around Ace. Many of the commanders who liked him thought that he was definitely not used to being around so many people. But, he could get used to it.

When Thatch had told Whitebeard about what Ace had told him, the man was disappointed in whichever commander had said those things that Ace had unfortunately overheard. It made him sad that some of his sons were so close minded to not accept Ace. If they hadn't known better, he really thought Ace would be indistinguishable with other humans based on behavior and intelligence.

"Give them time. Hopefully they will adjust like they did with Namur," Whitebeard had replied to a grumpy Thatch. Haruta had been in the room and was not happy either. Their new friend deserved respect and to be treated equally. Instead of discriminating against him and trying to push him away.

The sad thing was that Ace seemed to be used to this. Which was why he tried not to anger or irritate anyone. Thatch was sure he must have gone through something at his home planet that changed him in a way. Made him more afraid of disobeying so he apologized for ever saying no. Though, they didn't know. Maybe apologizing before declining something was a norm for saylas. They really didn't know. But they wanted to learn.

In the morning, Thatch had noticed with his haki that Ace wasn't in his room when he walked past on coincidence. He wondered where the sayla was, and couldn't find him anywhere. He grew concerned, thinking the worst. Maybe he left, or got eaten by a sea king or one of their own had done something to make him leave.

But when he found Ace in the bathhouse, sitting in the water, he lost the irrational fear of his new friend leaving. He had his arm in a trash bag to keep the cast from getting wet, and was leaning back against the side of the tub, not looking particularly happy. It made Thatch sad, but he didn't let Ace know he was there. Well, if he didn't know already. Ace had great hearing if he extended the range of it.

He did wonder what Ace's full body looked like, but it was none of his business and he knew that. There was no way he'd go into the bathroom and try to see the sayla naked. That would just be awkward and strange. Probably made Ace very uncomfortable as well.

Ace seemed to usually get up early, since he'd woken up before everyone else twice in a row. He'd woken up before Thatch had started breakfast. When he started the food, Ace wandered into the room, his hair a little damp still, l but wearing a new outfit made for him with his new boots.

He walked to the counter and sat down. He was completely awake, but didn't say anything. Thatch cooked in the quiet. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, though. Thatch assumed Ace was lost in his thoughts. He cooked in the silence as well, both glad he was there and also not feeling like he was with someone and just not talking. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable for the chef, and soon Ace had his first serving of the usual breakfast menu. Though Thatch changed the pancakes to have chocolate in them. Ace liked it, but he liked everything he'd eaten so far.

"So, we're planning on leaving this island soon. We've been here too long, for two days before you came. The marines will become suspicious and we'll have another fight again. Are you leaning towards staying?" he asked casually, though the question was a heavy one. Ace didn't answer for a moment, and Thatch waited for him to speak, not rushing him or trying to put him under an uncomfortable spotlight.

"I don't know yet. Probably. I just am not happy or used to being treated like a nuisance when I've not done anything annoying that I can think of," Ace finally replied, not making eye contact. Thatch frowned deeply, thoroughly annoyed with his brothers.

Thatch sighed and refilled Ace's glass of water. "I know they haven't exactly been the best to you. Humans aren't accepting as your kind. We just aren't, as a whole," he said, though it didn't make Ace feel much better. Just made him miss his planet more. "You said you can't get back to your planet, but I don't think anyone wants to be truly alone in life." Ace shrugged.

"I'll have an answer before the ship leaves this island," he replied simply, drinking some of the water. Thatch felt some of his brothers approaching, and Ace seemed to hear them as he sat up straighter. Thatch saw him move his fingers forwards so the volume of sound around him lowered.

Thatch saw some of his brothers stare at Ace with negative emotions, but others glared at those who made these faces or hit them to get them to stop. Thatch was at least grateful that not all of his family were rejecting Ace. Nick came to the bar counter and sat next to the sayla, asking how he was.

"I'm fine. Humans sleep longer than I do," Ace replied. He pushed the plate a bit away from him and Thatch took it to the massive sink and set it in the bin. Nick struck up a conversation with Ace, and they seemed like friends. Thatch hoped he would be Ace's favorite! After all, he was the one to find him.

He cooked up a storm, using the three stoves once his sou chefs arrived, seeming tired. Food came out at a fast pace and was laid out on the far bar counter where pirates could pick their food like a buffet table. There were also jugs of alcohol that they could fill up and bring to the table. But there was a limit in the morning so no one was allowed to get too smashed.

When Whitebeard came in, Ace had already left, and he asked where the brat was, his new nickname. He didn't call him that to his face yet, since the captain was still pretty much a stranger, though he wanted to be much more than that.

Thatch sat at the table once everyone's food was served, and started to eat. Haruta asked him if he'd seen Ace yet, since he'd missed a meal the day before he might have not gotten any breakfast. "Yeah, he sure is an early bird. He already ate before you came in. Don't know where he is now. Didn't tell me. Since I see him most in the morning, I'm gonna be his favorite~" Thatch said in a singsong voice.

Haruta scowled. "That's not fair, you're cheating!" he shouted, wanting to be close to Ace as well. Thatch shrugged with a haughty look on his face.

"I can't help that he likes me most. It's not my fault," he replied. Whitebeard chuckled. When Haruta lifted his arm that had a buttered pancake, clearly going to throw it, Marco shouted, "Haruta! Remember what happened last time?"

The last time there was a food fight, it was from Haruta and, even though he was a commander, he was stuck with cleaning duty for a week. Cleaning after 1600 men was not a happy thing to have to do. Not at all. Haruta pouted and lowered his hand, butter all over his hand now. "Screw you, Thatch," the youngest commander grumbled.

Some at the table looked frankly angry or irate with the two bickering over being friends with the alie- _sayla. _The outsider, non-human. It made them upset that more of the crew were getting attached. Nick and Mika sounded like they'd become fast friends with Ace after helping him clean up the broken punching bag.

Marco noticed the looks, and frowned with a sigh. Whitebeard had seen it, too. He wondered if Ace would want to stay in the first place due to the way he was being treated. He was friendly and open, but many of the commanders who'd actually spent some time with him could tell something had happened to him in the past. Especially Thatch, when Ace had said he always apologized for saying no to _anything. _And his brothers' deaths must have been incredibly painful if he still couldn't talk about them. At least, not to people he'd just met.

They remembered the way Namur had acted when he first joined the crew. He was nervous around them, but soon got used to it. He acted as if he wasn't bothered by the whispers behind his back, but Marco knew he'd heard them. That was when Marco had snapped at everyone, telling them they'd accept Namur or face punishments by each of their commanders. And he ended up becoming a commander eventually.

Kingdew had had enough of the people who welcomed the sayla onto the ship. They still knew nothing about him or if he was telling the truth about anything he'd said and not just making up stories. With Ace being so powerful with both his abilities and strength so far, he could do real damage to the crew or ship. Like he'd done with the marine ship.

After breakfast was over, he went to some of the members of his division that had expressed dislike over Ace and asked them to come with him discreetly. When they were far from the other commanders, Kingdew spoke to his subordinates.

"You don't want it here, right?" he asked at once. The others shook their heads. "We can see if it shows its true colors by irritating it." The others nodded, thinking it was a good idea. They didn't think Ace would kill them, but he might show that he was a violent person. "Don't injure it, though." They nodded again. This would show everyone who supported having an alien on the ship that Ace was not to be trusted.

-x-

The first time Ace thought something was up with some of the Whitebeards was when a glass of tea was dumped over his head, and then the guy apologized, though he didn't seem too sincere. Ace said it was no problem and went to dry off his hair and get a new shirt. He had three outfits now, and they were each very soft with big pockets, even if Ace didn't have anything to carry in them.

The second time was when he was tripped by a different pirate, and he stumbled forward but did not fall. He frowned at the man, who gave him a challenging look. "Why did you do that?" The man smirked and said it was an accident and Ace walked into his foot, he didn't trip him. Ace sighed, but walked away.

The third time was when he was out on deck, watching the sea and lost in his thoughts, some sort of ball was chucked at his head from behind. "Sorry!" the guy called. It didn't hurt Ace, but he knew something was going on.

Probably they didn't trust him and were trying to piss him off to show his _true colors. _Well, Ace might have had a temper as a child, but he'd grown up since then with the life he'd lived after Sabo and Luffy passed. He just grumbled, but did nothing else, turning back to the sea. He turned up the hearing and heard, "Nothing is working!"

Ace sighed, and turned the volume back down, he hoped this was the last incident, but it wasn't. Ace hadn't told anyone about the harassment, thinking it really wasn't worth it, but dealt with it. The people who were trying to antagonize him always did it when no commanders were near. At dinner, after the meal was done and they were all having some dessert, someone behind him slipped and Ace was then covered in whip cream, dripping down his eyes.

"I'm sorry!" this man said, sounding sincere though Ace knew he wasn't. It was too much of a coincidence. Ace sighed, and wiped the whip cream out of his eyes. He told the people sitting with him, his more friend-ish acquaintances, that he was going to go rinse his hair and change shirts. "No one eat my pie," he said, and walked out of the room.

Six incidents had happened that day, and he was sick of it. But, even if he was absolutely furious, he wouldn't retaliate with violence. He saw the pirates hit each other when annoyed, and Ace thought it was just strange to hit your friend or brother in anger. When he hit Luffy and Sabo, it was during sparring or when they were wrestling around for the best part of the bed. Luffy always won the comfiest part in the middle.

After he rinsed his head in the sink, getting the whipped cream out of his hair, he looked at his back in the mirror, adjusting the sling to see the bad scabs and tiny dotted ones. He wasn't wearing bandages anymore, but they were still nasty wounds. They could open any time, but he was gentle with it, not sitting or laying against anything hard, only the couch or bed.

When he walked into the bedroom, small and dinky though it may be, he was walking to the dresser that was in there before he came, and didn't see the oil on the ground, slipping in it even in his boots and landing on the floor hard. He felt a painful jolt and then felt warmth trickling down his back.

He closed his eyes in anger, counting to ten slowly and breathing steadily. He didn't want to get mad, but this one was dangerous. He could have landed on his broken arm, and he didn't know if the cast was strong enough to protect it even from a hard fall.

There was no point in putting on a new shirt that would just get blood stained, so he sighed and stood up in the puddle of oil, and took his slippery boots off and walked to the infirmary barefoot and bleeding. He had an angry expression on, but he wouldn't act on it. It would do no good and make things even worse. Though he was really angry about the pettiness of whoever was orchestrating this idiocy.

When he entered the infirmary, he called for someone, and sat down on one of the beds. His back and butt were damp with oil. "Ace, what happened? What did you do to your back? I told you to be gentle!" Whiskey said angrily. "I should have given you stitches. And why are you covered in vegetable oil?"

Ace didn't answer for a moment. "I slipped in a puddle of it."

"In the kitchen?" Whiskey asked as she wiped all of the oil off of Ace's back with a towel. Ace would be honest. It wasn't like he was tattling. You don't lie to medical people. Ace knew that very well. It hinders their job to give you proper treatment if you leave out any information.

"No, in my room," Ace replied. Whiskey was quiet for a moment. But, she seemed like a smart human, and connected the dots.

"So the oil was planted there for you to slip on," she said in a cold voice. Ace nodded.

"Probably. People have been messing with me all day today. I think it's probably trying to get me angry to lash out or get violent. They're pissing me off, but I'm not gonna do anything bad. I've been trying to ignore them since they were harmless but annoying, but now I'm injured from it." Ace sighed. "I'm not welcome here."

Whiskey was fuming behind him. "I can't believe how _childish _they are being! If you don't tell Pops I will. Do you know who did it? Who's been doing it all day today?" she asked, voice attempting to be calm again. Ace shook his head. All of the humans looked similar. Their skin tones were so close to being the same. Ace was used to very colorful people, all different shades of colors so they could be told apart easily.

"No, and I'm not sure what they look like. The humans all look similar to me unless they have some eccentric hairdo, like Izo, Marco and Thatch. And a couple of the bigger members are easy to tell apart," Ace explained. Whiskey nodded, but Ace couldn't see it, so she said, "I understand. I'm gonna need to give you stitches. The fall had really tore one of the bigger wounds, and it's bleeding a lot. I can't believe someone did this to you…"

Ace shrugged, trying to make it seem like no big deal. Whiskey wasn't comfortable giving him any human medication, so she had to stitch the wound while he was feeling it, gritting his teeth. It hurt. For Whiskey, it was a strange experience. After all, Ace's skin was much thicker and durable than humans, making it difficult to put the needles in. It had been the same when Tami had moved the protruding bone back into place and had to sew up the gash that was made when the bone stuck out.

The sayla's skin was thick, like leather. But, Whiskey was able to do it but it took three separate needles. They had been ruined. "There, I'm done. Let's go, we're talking to Pops," Whiskey said sternly, handing Ace his shirt he'd brought with him. They walked through the ship, and found Pops walking towards his room.

"Pops, we need to have a conversation now," Whiskey said in a harsh voice. It was clear she was angry. Whitebeard probably thought Ace had done something wrong. It was the opposite. The sayla thought he'd handled all the crap today quite well.

The three walked into the captain's room, and Ace was amazed at how huge the bed was, or the chair in the corner. The windows were big and open, and Ace wished his little room had a window. "What has happened?"

Ace didn't speak, so Whiskey did. "Ace tore his wounds up badly because one of our own planted a puddle of oil in his room for him to slip on. Ace, explain today to Pops." So, Ace told him everything that had happened that day. All of the harassment. Whitebeard's face showed fury and disappointment.

"Do you remember what they look like?" the captain asked, his voice not showing how angry he really was. Ace thought back, trying to remember who had done it. He would recognize the voices if he heard it again. He finally came up with a face, the one who had tripped him.

"The one who tripped me had bright red hair in a bun. He was a guy, kind of short," Ace said. "It's been more than one person, but he's the only one that stood out."

Whitebeard frowned deeply. "That's Meyers, from the 11th division. Kingdew's division. He's a commander who doesn't approve of you being here. I surely hope he did not abuse his position to have his members harass you," he said in a sad voice. "Thank you for telling me, Ace."

The sayla nodded, frowning softly. Missing home again. "They probably wanted me to get angry and show everyone I'm a monster or something. I'm angry, and irritated, but I'm not gonna hurt anyone. I'm not a human." His view of the species plummeted every day. For every person on the ship that liked and welcomed him, there were more that didn't.

He honestly had started to miss seeing himself. Being this fleshy pink color was not him. But, he already wasn't welcome when he looked like a human. It would be even worse if he walked around blue. He knew on this planet he'd never be free to be himself unless he hid away from everyone and lived out in the wilderness, which he wouldn't survive in for very long.

"Not all humans are bad, Ace. Many of them are, but some are not. Look at Thatch. Does he give off a single impression that he is evil or cruel, besides pranking people?" the captain asked. Ace shook his head. Thatch didn't seem like he had a mean bone in his body.

"I'm gonna go to bed after wiping up the oil. Is there a towel closet somewhere?" he asked in a tired voice. He just wanted to sleep. But he wasn't supposed to sleep on his back with the fresh stitches. Whiskey said that they'd dissolve and not need to be removed. He was glad. The process of getting them _in _was not pleasant. Getting them out probably was also uncomfortable.

Whiskey said she'd help him clean up the mess, and they both left Whitebeard to his room by himself. The nurse looked to the side at Ace, who just looked so exhausted. "I'm really sorry that you're being treated like that. I don't think you're evil, or lying about anything. I think you're genuinely a good person, and I will fight those I hear talking down about you." Ace gave her a smile.

"Thanks, Whiskey," Ace said, and the two went to his room and cleaned up the oil. Ace sighed when he saw his sheets were ruined as well. Someone had come in since the last time he was there and put long slashes in the sheets. He just wanted to go to bed! He gathered the sheets up and put them in the corner. Laying on his stomach and putting his face in the pillow.


	4. Getting To Know Ace More

**Samster7241: Yeah. I always hurt him. In my newest 3 fics, Ace is always the one who is put through the wringer.**

**blueflamegoddess: Don't worry, there are consequences.**

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**So I'm going crazy with writing over quarantine. I posted 3 new stories and a one shot. The three stories are all in the 30,000's of words, so not super long. Enjoy~**

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Whiskey didn't argue with him when he just laid down on the mattress and used the quilt at the end of the bed. The nurse was so angry at those who were targeting Ace. She liked him, and would like him to stay, but she didn't want him to be absolutely miserable. She couldn't help but touch Ace's hair comfortingly when he started breathing heavily, like he was trying not to fall apart while Whiskey was still in the room.

"We'll take care of this, don't worry," Whiskey vowed, and then left the room, closing the door quietly. She had the sheets in her arms, and was going to dump them. There was no way they'd get fixed.

Whitebeard had found Kingdew and asked him to come with him. Whitebeard grew suspicious when Kingdew looked uncomfortable. Did he really abuse his power to try and get Ace to leave? And if Ace did end up attacking someone, they could be dead. Ace was incredibly strong, he would be able to kill someone just by a kick to them based on him destroying one of the punching bags with a kick.

The two went to the meeting room, only the two of them. He sat in his usual chair, as did Kingdew. "I've just found out something about one of your division members. He and others have been harrassing Ace. He tore his wounds from one of the incidents, making him need stitches." A guilty look crossed Kingdew's face, and Whitebeard sighed. "Be honest with me. Are you part of this problem?" The commander was silent, but that was answer enough. "You are suspended from your position due to abusing your power for three weeks. You won't be attending commander meetings in this time frame and I will take over responsibility of your division. I'm incredibly disappointed in you. You are dismissed."

The suspended-commander didn't reply, but looked very upset. Whitebeard had never had to suspend one of the commanders before, since they usually were responsible and took their job seriously. Even when they did stupid things, like Thatch and Haruta's incessant pranks, he never suspended them. Only for abuse of power or betraying the crew. This was abuse of power and betrayal of Whitebeard's trust, who had told his sons that he wanted to keep Ace.

He was severely disappointed and saddened, feeling like a failure to have not taught his son what decent people do and don't do. Whitebeard was sure Kingdew thought this was the right thing to do to protect the crew, but Ace had been targeted all day, and didn't just not react, he didn't _tell _anyone. He just took it in angry silence.

Whiskey had come back to his room and informed him of the latest incident with the sheets. Whitebeard was going to make an announcement in the morning. Anyone who targets Ace negatively will face consequences. He was trying to come up with a good punishment. He wasn't so cruel to injure or beat them. He could ban them from drinking, make them do cleaning duty, bar them from fighting anyone or going onto any islands.

If this were another pirate crew, Kingdew and his lackeys would have been killed or thrown off the ship. But Whitebeard would never do that. Not unless it was something severe, like one trying to kill one of their own. But he knew none of his children would do that to one another. Ace was a different matter, as he wasn't part of the crew or family yet. _Yet. _

Word of Kingdew's suspension spread like wildfire, and by the next day everyone knew about it. Many were furious with him and those he identified to have done what he asked. They were all banned from any alcohol and were confined to the ship. And if anyone targeted or abused Ace again, it would be solitary confinement. The harshest punishment besides death that the captain could give.

Never had a commander been suspended, so it was a shock to everyone. Kingdew wasn't banned from the commanders' table, but he didn't sit with them. He sat with his own division, while Ace sat in his usual spot with Nick and Mika with him. Thatch eventually went over to sit there instead of at his usual table.

Ace hadn't said a word about what had happened the day before, so they didn't learn about it from him. "Ace, why didn't you tell any of us that stuff was happening?" Thatch asked quietly. Ace pursed his lips.

"Didn't want to be a bother. It's not a big deal except the oil one. I didn't want there to be a fuss," he replied honestly. It broke Thatch's heart. Ace didn't know a family's love. And he'd clearly not been with someone who would raise him up instead of making him into this. Thinking so little of himself that he didn't want to be a bother by reporting physical harassment.

"It is a big deal. No one should be treated like that when they haven't done anything wrong." He put his hand on Ace's shoulder.

"It's fine, really. I'm over it," Ace insisted, putting his fork down on his empty plate. Before Thatch said anything else, Ace got up, put the plate back in the kitchen and then left the galley, a blank expression on his face as he looked down at the floor. Thatch wanted to know why he acted like this. He seemed to have very little self-worth. The chef wanted to help him, but he didn't know if Ace would accept it. And especially when he was being treated like some sort of disease that needed to get off the ship. Why would anyone want to stay and be treated like that?

Thatch turned and gave Kingdew a look of absolute disdain. He scowled back, but then looked away first. Thatch finished his food and then went to start cleaning up since people were leaving already. He wanted a distraction from everything, but he couldn't stop thinking about how sad Ace looked.

Marco had been watching Thatch talking with Ace before the sayla got up and put his plate away, and then left. While Thatch started to clean, Marco got up to go see Ace. He looked in his room, but he wasn't in there. The bed was still bare besides the neatly folded quilt. He looked in the library, but he wasn't there either.

Ace didn't seem to be on the ship anymore since Marco didn't sense him. He probably wanted alone time, but Marco didn't know if that was the best idea. He didn't want to leave Ace alone to wallow in self-hate. It was easy to tell he lacked a strong self-esteem, which was why he was letting people walk all over him.

Well, probably. Ace seemed very human, and Marco had a feeling this wasn't just how sayla's acted. He flew off of the ship and looked on the island for Ace. it was bare of any people, and very quiet. Not the silence Ace could do, though. Just calm and quiet. The ship had been moved back to land early that morning or Ace would have been stranded on the ship.

He flew around the small island before finding Ace sitting in a tree with his knees pulled up to his chest, not really looking at anything in particular. He was also no longer in human colors, meaning he was more comfortable in his own skin. And that would be looked down on on the ship. Ace would be unable to be himself. Unless everyone accepted him.

To be honest, Marco thought Ace was really cute when he was blue. And the white freckles sprinkled like stars were endearing more than regular freckles were. He landed under the tree, and Ace wasn't surprised he was there. Had probably heard him a while ago. "Hi, Marco."

"Hey, Ace. No, you don't have to change to look human around me or Thatch or Haruta. It must be hard, hiding yourself like that," the phoenix zoan said. Ace shrugged non committedly. "Are you okay?" Marco knew he wasn't, could see the shadows over his eyes, the sadness almost dripping off of him.

He nodded, but Marco didn't buy it and flew up to sit on one of the thicker branches near the one Ace was lounging on. "Is there really nothing we can do to get you back home? I want you to stay, but I know you must want to go home," the first commander said. Ace looked down at the shiny and fancy looking watch on his wrist.

"I can't go home. It's busted and there's no replacement for someplace this far from home," Ace replied.

Marco then asked, "Do you think anyone will come to get you?" Ace shook his head, and brought his knees up a little closer to his chest, wrapping his good arm around them.

"The tracker is broken as well. They have no way to know where I went, and the universe is too big to search everywhere. I'm stranded here," the sayla explained. "I'll just have to get used to humans being like this."

Marco sighed, and looked down with a look of sadness on his face. "You deserve better than this. I know it doesn't matter much, but I'm very sorry for the way some - many of my brothers are acting. It's wrong and disgusting and won't be tolerated."

Ace nodded silently. "We're going to be leaving tomorrow. Are you coming with us?" Marco asked quietly, looking at Ace's blank expression as he thought. Marco had no idea what was going on in his head until he replied.

"I'll try. I'll stay for now, everyone deserves a second chance. I don't know what I'll do if this happens again. I have nowhere to go, I don't know anything or anyone," Ace said. His voice was strong at first, but then it faltered. Marco was honestly very impressed that Ace was willing to forgive those who made his day awful and then caused him to have an injury.

Marco said, "I imagine it must be terrifying." Ace nodded in agreement, and rested his chin on his knees. "I'm sorry this happened to you. And I'm sorry you can't be yourself on the ship yet. I actually think you look much better in your normal skin color," the phoenix said sincerely.

"Me, too. Humans all have the same pink skin. It's boring," Ace replied, making Marco chuckle. He cracked a small smile, but it was very small.

"I hope you get to see the good side of humanity. And though you're on a pirate ship, you are not obligated to fight for it. It might go against your beliefs to attack other people, and that's fine," Marco said emphatically. Ace made direct eye contact with him and frowned, and Marco worried he'd said something wrong.

The young sayla said, "It's not that I don't like fighting. I had a lot of fun with my friends and brothers, sparring and fighting each other. I just don't like hurting people. And whenever one of us got hurt by going too hard or being reckless, we had the salve that would fix it up pretty well."

Marco thought that Ace might just have the purest soul he'd ever met. Maybe it was because he wasn't human. Even Marco thought humans were inherently greedy and unaccepting of others. Kindness was an exception in this world, not the norm. That was backed up by the bad pirates or the marines and heinous world government and higher classes, along with the Celestial Dragons. But, he didn't know Ace well enough to really see if his soul was pure. Not that he could _see _it, but he wanted to know more about Ace. He didn't want to intrude, though, and ask too many personal questions.

"What if the person you had to hurt was evil? What if they threatened your life or someone you care about?" Marco questioned quietly, leaning forward a bit, wondering what the answer would be. He couldn't see any other option than to defend themselves or end up having to kill.

Ace replied almost immediately. "Hurting them would be unpreferred and killing the absolute last option. I'd try and disarm them, make them unable to attack again."

"Even if they were evil? Like those who owned slaves and hurt them?" Marco pressed, curious about Ace's answer. But the young man looked unsure, and Marco worried he'd pressed a button.

He bit his lip and shrugged. "I don't know. I've never met someone like that, so I don't know how I'd handle it. Probably would rather use my strength to try to break the slaves out then hurting or killing them," he replied.

Marco could see his point, but could also see a problem with this way of thinking. He wouldn't defend himself if he were threatened, even though he can. If he were to be almost killed, then he would fight back, but he would wait until the last moment, not wanting to hurt anyone. The phoenix hoped that being on the ship wouldn't take away that endearing innocence. Ace was so kind and sweet. He was growing on Marco quickly, like he'd done with Thatch. Marco just wished more felt the same.

Ace was more of a danger to himself than the others. "Would you put your enemy's safety over your own? So you don't have to hurt them?" Marco questioned. He had no idea what Ace's answer would be. The sayla paused, and it seemed like he gave a thought of thought to the answers for the questions he was asked. And they were all honest ones. He wondered if Ace even _could_ lie.

"I would do what I had to to stay alive, but it would be a last resort. I'd rather run than have to kill someone," Ace finally answered. Marco looked at him in almost respect. Most men, human men, would balk and flounder at the thought of running to save your life rather than fight back. They'd be ashamed of it, to be branded as a coward. Ace wasn't a coward, he was kind. Too kind, in Marco's opinion. Not that he would try to change that.

Marco couldn't stop asking questions, wanting to see just how pure of heart this person was. "What if they called you a coward?" he asked curiously. Ace furrowed his brows. Marco raised his, wondering what the answer would be.

Ace didn't understand the question or its significance. "Is being called a coward bad here? Not a lot of my kind would be called a coward for abstaining from hurting someone else. Who cares if I'm called a coward, it's better than murderer."

The pirate smiled softly, fondly, at Ace. "You're a very kind person, Ace. I wish I could be that kind. Most humans would be horrified at being called a coward, or running from a fight. They'd rather die than run, turn their back on a fight they can't win."

"Stupid. You'd die for your pride? How does that make sense?" He was truly confused with this way of thinking. While Marco looked at his face, Ace looked up when a squirrel climbed down the tree and right next to Ace's head, before it turned around and chittered away, out of view. Marco was surprised it came so close to him, but Ace wasn't a human so he may give off another vibe. Or the squirrel was curious.

Marco shrugged. "Humans are strange like that. We're very emotional and impulsive creatures." Ace gave him a look.

"So are we, but we don't go around beating the crap out of people for fun," he countered. Marco chuckled.

"Then I guess we're just stupid, then," he replied with a smile. "After all, as you said, we're very underdeveloped as a planet." Ace nodded, but not in a way that would offend Marco, even if he thought the pirates were stupid. Based on what Marco had seen so far, Ace didn't have a cruel bone in his body. He would not only be the minority by not being a human on the ship, but also the only one who is truly kind and peaceful. Marco sensed and Ace heard trampling of leaves in a hurry coming their way.

"Ace!" Thatch's voice called. Marco called the chef over to their destination, and Thatch walked into view. "Hey, are you having a party without me?" he pouted. Ace gave a smile, and Marco mimicked it. Ace really was an adorable guy.

"Well, Ace agreed to stay with us for now, so I guess we could have a mini party all by ourselves," Marco offered. Thatch beamed widely, excited that Ace would be staying, even though all of these bad things had happened and how he was treated was unfair. If only everyone could have heard Ace's answers. If he didn't want to hurt strangers, evil ones, there wasn't a chance he would hurt any of them.

Marco could not see Ace doing anything negative while on the ship, purposely. The first mate was still furious with his brothers, especially Kingdew, but Ace didn't hold a grudge against any of them. Honestly, if Marco had done all these bad things to someone and they forgave him easily, it might make him feel bad.

Thatch climbed up a tree across from them and sat on the branch, a few feet higher than Marco's branch, his legs hanging over the side. The three talked about random things for a couple hours, the time flying by, before Thatch knew it was lunchtime and he had to go cook. Marco's stomach rumbled and Ace giggled. _Giggled. _

The chef had trouble not squealing at it, and Marco gave him a stern look. He may think it was adorable as well, but didn't know if Ace would like that. Though, after the conversation Marco had had with only Ace, he might not care. And if he did, probably wouldn't say anything about it.

The three went back through the woods together, Ace much happier than he had been when he left. When they reached the ship, both pirates noticed Ace's expression fall the second he changed back into looking human. The two exchanged a sad glance. Ace didn't notice they saw it, and probably didn't even know he had done it.

Lunch had Marco sitting with Ace at the end of his usual table, talking some, but mostly Marco observing Ace. Part of him couldn't fathom how someone could be as kind as Ace. And humble, too. He didn't think he'd ever met anyone before who would rather be called a coward than someone who hurt someone else. He would do what he could to keep Ace like this.

"Do I have something on my face?" Ace asked quietly, and Marco realized he'd been too obvious. Some at the table around him were looking at the first mate in question, too. Damn, he thought he'd been discreet.

"No, sorry, I zoned out," Marco replied, and it was true. Ace looked easier now knowing something wasn't on his face or part of him wasn't changed in a different color. "When we're done eating, let's go talk to the captain." Ace agreed, and finished his sandwich, this time with more toppings to try out.

Whitebeard had already left the room for some fresh air with the very nice weather, so Ace and Marco just went outside to his chair. Since the whole suspension and the secret abuse of Ace was a big deal and drama at the moment, pirates stared at Ace a lot. Marco sent them looks, but Ace had already noticed the staring and was looking down at the deck, face a little blank but also sad. Like he was trying to hide that the stares made him sad.

Marco wanted to see his smile more. He wanted Ace to smile around _everyone _all the time. Not just in secret or in one on one conversations. The man wanted the sayla to be happy here, even if it would take a while to get there. But Ace was right. There was nowhere else to go; he didn't know anybody or anything and was trapped. Marco knew he was staying because of safety, but he couldn't help but wish it was because the ship made Ace happy.

When they reached Pops' chair, people had moved on or were staring in a more discreet way. "Hello son, Ace," the captain said.

"Hey Pops. Ace, do you want to tell him?" When Ace looked uncertain, Marco continued. "Well, Ace has decided to give living with us a chance. For now, that is." Whitebeard grinned and then looked at Ace strangely. Like he couldn't believe this brat actually wanted to stay after the kind of welcome he was getting.

"What about those that hurt and antagonized you? Aren't you upset with them?" he asked, wondering much like Marco had, just what kind of guy Ace was. It would make perfect sense for Ace to be angry with those who had unfairly tried to provoke him. Ace did what he often did, and shrugged.

He responded, "Everyone deserves more than one chance. Hopefully they know I'm not gonna lose my temper now and kill everyone." He said the last part a bit bitterly. Marco knew that Ace must be offended with anyone hinting he would hurt or kill someone. Especially after the talk where Ace was adamant against violence even in desperate situations. Marco would talk to Pops about it later.

Whitebeard smiled at Ace fondly. "Well, welcome to the Moby Dick." He didn't say welcome to the family or crew, since Ace was just staying with them for now before he decides to stay forever. Where else would he go? And his first friends on this planet were on this ship. Ace nodded with a barely-there smile.

-x-

The day they left, Haruta patiently explained how they ran the ship. Most of the pirates knew basic navigation and had an idea on how the Grand Line worked before joining the crew, but Ace had none. So, the smallest commander explained how to steer the ship, furl and unfurl the sails and use the ropes properly. He also got schooled on climbing to the crowsnest up the ratlines, a swift learner even while only using one arm.

Ace was interested in it, and had already read about the Grand Line and New World weather, so Haruta didn't need to give him lessons on that too much. Ace seemed to really enjoy being in the crowsnest, and when the weather was calm, would often bring a book up with him. There were two crows nests on the Moby Dick, so it was fine for him to reserve one.

The sayla wouldn't say he didn't notice the mixed reactions to him joining the crew, even if it was possibly temporary. Some were happy, those he'd talked to more or sat with at his usual table, or the people who he sometimes chatted in the library with. A handful of commanders were very happy he was staying. Then there were the people that were simply interested in the sayla, who welcomed him, not that they liked him or knew him well enough as the person he was. About 20 percent of the ship welcomed him. The other eighty percent did not.

He got glares, and whispers a lot, but he ignored them as best as he could, thinking of those people in the 20 percent. He avoided the commanders he could tell didn't welcome him. He didn't know half of their names besides Marco, Thatch, Haruta, Vista, Jozu, Izo and Namur. The rest either didn't care or were unwelcoming to him. Though, he hadn't been harrassed again, so hopefully that incident was dead and gone.

Marco flew up to the crowsnest when Ace was about to finish a book on the plant life on earth. He landed on the edge of it and sat on the bench. "Hey, Ace," Marco said, and Ace closed the book after glancing at the page number to remember where he left off, not folding the corner of the page to keep his place. They weren't his books, after all.

"Hi, Marco. What's up?" Ace asked. He was blue right now since no one could see him up here and Marco said he liked the blue more, so Ace was fine being himself when Marco or Thatch were around, only them.

"Someone is visiting the ship today, and I wanted to let you know he's not a bad human. Annoying, but not bad. His name is Shanks. You can come down, go inside or stay up here. Just didn't want you to get nervous. He tends to knock out some of us when he gets aboard," Marco explained.

"From conquerors haki?" Ace guessed, having read a book about haki and its many uses. His goal was to read every history book in the library. He'd already read five in the last six days since coming aboard the ship. There were still probably a hundred more. Marco nodded and asked how he knew. "I've been doing my homework," Ace replied and lifted up the book. The phoenix smiled.

"Good for you. Does it feel better to be learning more about this planet? That you're not completely clueless anymore?" Ace nodded. He liked knowing more, even if it were only a few books and he had a long way to go. "Would you like to read our logbooks sometime? They tell of our past adventures if you ever want to learn the history of this ship. You'll have to be very careful with them, but I doubt you'd be rough when handling any of them."

Ace smiled, as it sounded nice to know more about the ship. He could understand it more. "Sure. That'd be nice." Marco nodded with a smile, and then dropped down from the crowsnest. Ace would finish this book first before touching any of the logbooks. Ace was not someone who was rough with things that didn't belong to him. Some of his electronics back at home had scratches and cracks in the glass due to dropping them. It had been an older model without the indestructible glass screens.

When Marco brought him two log books, Ace stayed in the crowsnest to read while everyone got ready for Shanks to come. He had no idea who it was, of course, but he didn't seem to be an enemy. Not like Ace would have to fight him if he was.

It was mid-afternoon that a new pirate ship came into view. It looked nothing like the Moby Dick, and was much smaller. It didn't take long for a plank to be attached to both ships so Shanks and his crew to board. His crew looked much tinier than the Whitebeards. Ace put the logbooks down and peeked over the edge of the crowsnest, back into human form. He leaned over a bit to see a man with bright red hair, carrying a huge, round bottle.

Ace assumed it was alcohol since it looked similar to the bottle the captain drank his out of. It smelled terrible, so he hadn't tried it yet. People started to drop like flies as Shanks walked closer to Whitebeard's chair, which was directly under the tallest mast, where Ace was. Then, everything went black, and he was falling over the side of the crowsnest, unconscious and back to being blue.

Marco was there in an instant, Ace in his arms and completely knocked out. "Shanks, you asshole, stop doing that!" the phoenix shouted angrily. Shanks looked at Ace with wide eyes. After all, Ace was in his natural color.

The first mate ignored Shanks' staring and laid Ace down on the deck, trying to rouse him from his sleep. Everyone was staring at him, so Marco gave one last glare at Shanks, before picking Ace back up and bringing him to his room. He'd gather the logbooks for him, since he might not want to go back out with Shanks there. Marco had always been annoyed with Shanks when he knocked the weaker pirates out, but this time it put someone in danger. Though Ace would have probably been fine, considering he'd survived falling from the sky with only minor injuries.

Marco tucked Ace into bed, and was going to leave before he heard Ace say, "Don't go…" Marco turned around, but Ace was still asleep. "Luffy… Sabo," then tears were in his eyes. The phoenix didn't know who Luffy and Sabo were, but walked back over to Ace when there were tears in his eyes. He was having a bad dream.

He gently shook Ace awake, whose eyes opened slowly. He looked up at Marco, and then wiped his tears hastily. Marco sat down on the bed next to him. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked quietly. Ace looked down.

"Sorry, I don't want to talk about it. It's really personal," Ace said, sounding guilty. Marco had heard from Thatch about Ace apologizing every time he said no, and it made Marco sad. He didn't let it show on his face or Ace might see it as pity.

"You don't have to apologize when saying no, Ace. It's your choice whether to do something or not," Marco said. Ace's cheeks flushed a darker blue, making his white freckles look like they were stars in the midnight sky. The sayla nodded, clearly embarrassed. "I'm gonna go see that asshole, and bring you the logbooks in case you don't want to go back out. Shanks would no doubt be fascinated, and sometimes he's just tactless, even if he doesn't mean to be."

Ace looked at his hands, and sighed. He was blue, in front of everyone. They didn't all like Ace's blue like Marco and Thatch said they did. "Can you bring them to the library instead?" the young man said quietly, and sat up, changing back into his human form.

"Sure. I'll be there soon," Marco said, and they both stood up and Ace headed to the library while Marco went out on deck. He flew up to the crowsnest and collected the books Ace had brought up, which were spread around the crowsnest benches. Usually, nobody was allowed to remove books from the library, but Marco had given Ace permission to do so, since he had faith Ace would treat them carefully. There wasn't a single page turned down and they looked perfectly fine.

He glared at Shanks when he landed on the deck, back to normal. He had the decency to look a bit guilty. Whitebeard looked angry, or at least irate. The first mate went to the library and put the books on the end table near the couch Ace usually occupied. It was in the corner of the room which was bit hidden by a bookshelf. Ace may be social with those he knew liked him, but he seemed to need to be alone for a long time sometimes.

Marco could understand needing to escape in Ace's situation, becoming overwhelmed. Plus, there were just so many people here. "Thanks, Marco," Ace said, looking sadder than he sometimes did. Probably because of the upsetting dream he'd had.

The pirate was sure that Ace had not completely moved on from the death of his brothers, who Marco was assuming were Luffy and Sabo. He could understand being unable to completely move on from the past, especially when someone important left for good.

It made Marco worry that Ace was lying to them about his feelings. Well, hiding them as best as he could. Marco felt almost bad for seeing Ace crying in his sleep. It was a private moment he shouldn't have been present for. But, he wished Ace would open up more at least to Thatch. They were fast friends. Thatch seemed to have already adopted Ace as a younger brother.

Marco said "you're welcome" and then left the room. He headed out on deck and found some of Ace's friends glaring at Shanks, who looked quite uncomfortable. "So, is Ace human?" Shanks asked, and Marco was surprised he'd waited this long to ask.

Whitebeard answered that he wasn't going to go into detail about Ace's background. Shanks took the hint and didn't ask again, though he was very curious. Marco headed over to Thatch, since all the commanders were out on deck in case something happened. Well, except Kingdew, who was not sitting or standing with the commanders.

"How is he?" Thatch asked. Marco sighed, and Thatch's face grew worried.

"He had a bad dream so I had to wake him up. I don't think he's moved on from the death of his brothers like he said he had. Or it's just been made worse by coming here. Here, he has no pictures or keepsakes from them. It must be upsetting," Marco explained quietly. "He's in the library right now. What happened while I was inside?"

Thatch was sad about hearing what Marco had just said. Poor Ace. He wanted him to be his new family. Not replace his brothers -_never-_ but to be cared for. Thatch hoped his brothers could move on from their prejudice, but he didn't know what it would take. "Pops was really angry, and Shanks apologized. Ace probably would have been fine, but it's just what happened. If someone else had fallen and no one caught them, they could have broken their neck. Thank you for catching him."

"Of course."

Shanks' visit was uncomfortable, and the Whitebeards were glad when he left, after only about an hour of being there. Whitebeard took a big sigh, as it had been awkward and Shanks had nothing important to talk about, he was just there cause they had both been in the same area, which was a crazy coincidence, to meet unplanned in the New World. The odds of that are tiny.

"Is Ace alright?" Whitebeard asked. Marco nodded. He wasn't hurt or anything. At least physically, but he didn't say anything about Ace's bad dream. Not in front of everyone. Not now. He looked up at the crowsnest, thinking of how Ace only had his true skin color when he was alone and out of sight. Poor guy.


	5. Caught Up In a Betrayal

**WhiteyWolf26: Poor Ace indeed (*devious laugh... with ominous music*). And I don't think I'd be interested in writing those subjects. And I just posted 2 stories since then that are real world au (though not happy). I can only write what pops into my head, I can't latch onto other ideas. Sorry. **

**crimsonbrothers: Thank you! I'm glad I inspired you! Ace is from another planet, not dimension so there is only one set of Luffy and Sabo, on Ace's planet. They are gone for good. :( **

**Jasmine: I'm not going to give out plot spoilers to any of my stories from questions in reviews, but I will tell you that Shanks is not major in this one. **

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**Hi, hi, hi! Shit goes down in this chapter. Might be jarring, but it is incredibly important throughout the rest of the story. In a couple chapters, the MarcoxAce will begin. Stay safe everyone! Enjoy~**

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Ace was so embarrassed about crying in front of Marco. He couldn't help it, he was asleep and dreaming of his brothers. Coming here made it so much worse. He thought he had moved on, but he didn't realize how much he held Luffy and Sabo's hats, and now he had neither and would never get them back. Never see pictures, or visit their trees. He felt so lonely, even surrounded by so many people.

Things here would be so much better if his brothers were with him. He would have at least _somebody _who liked him. Thatch, Marco and Haruta act like they like him, but sometimes it was just hard to believe. He would never voice that, and risk making them unhappy, though. It was his own thought, and he didn't know what they could do to make him believe it.

He was just staring at the same page of the logbook, trying to read, but every sentence he finished, he couldn't remember and tried to reread it. Some people trickled into the library, and Ace turned his volume down so he couldn't hear if they were talking about him in a mean way. Luffy would be so mad if he knew what some had done to him.

At dinner, Ace walked awkwardly into the galley, and for once did not stay. It had been over a week since staying, and he usually sat at the same table. This time, he took his plate of food and left the galley completely. He didn't know if that was allowed, but he didn't want to fake small talk. He hated lying or faking things.

The only lies he ever told were those about how he was feeling. He didn't want people to fuss about him, try to cheer him up. When people did that, it made him feel like an inconvenience, that they were wasting time trying to cheer him up when it never worked.

He ate at the back of the ship, looking out at the ocean as the ship sailed slowly through the water, the breeze making Ace's hair move around his face. Once he finished the food, he took the empty plate back to the galley. He tried not to look at anyone, but gained a concern look from Thatch. He left quickly after putting the plate in the sink, and headed to the crowsnest to hide.

After about an hour of being alone and not really doing anything, Thatch arrived, peeking over the edge of the crowsnest. Ace was back to being blue since no one on deck could see him. "Hey buddy. How are you? You seemed sad at dinner," Thatch said, now sitting across from Ace, who was on the floor, leaning against the bench.

"I'm fine," Ace said in as convincing voice as he could. Thatch looked down at the answer. It was clearly a lie. He hoped Thatch wouldn't get mad. But he just seemed sad. It made Ace feel worse. "Sorry," he couldn't help but say. Thatch sighed at this.

"We told you you don't need to apologize," Thatch said. "If you don't want to talk about something, that is _your _choice. If you ever do want to talk, come to me or Marco. I hope someday you'll trust us enough to tell us what's bothering you, or why you're sad."

Ace looked a bit ashamed. He wasn't feeling very nice today. He wished bedtime would come sooner so he could wake up and start a fresh day. "I know you only just got here, and that we should not take you closing up personally. We just want to help you feel better. Happier, since we know this is incredibly hard for you and you're doing an amazing job so far," Thatch said sincerely. Ace didn't know what to say.

"...Thanks," he settled on. Thatch didn't leave, just stayed there, looking at the sea. It was a bit uncomfortable because Ace felt like crying. He wanted to go home. "C-can you please leave?" Ace asked in a thick voice, hiding his face in his knees with his broken arm flat against his chest. He didn't know what Thatch's expression was, but he seemed to understand why Ace wanted him to leave.

"Sure. I'll see you at breakfast, goodnight," Thatch said in a kind voice. Kind, but no pity Ace could detect. Ace just nodded in response, still hiding his face. The moment Ace knew there wasn't anyone else near, he burst into quiet sobs.

He stayed in the crowsnest until he fell asleep, cold but heavy with sleep. When he woke up in the middle of the night, his back ached a little bit from leaning against the bench for hours, but he climbed down the ratlines carefully with one arm and headed for his room, back to human colors. Every time he had to wear this faulty skin, he felt worse. Especially right when he did it. Sometimes he didn't notice it unless he was using his good hand for something, or looking down at his legs.

When the sayla got to his room, he collapsed on the bed, much warmer inside than out in the chilly night air. He laid on his back, staring at the ceiling before drifting asleep. He had no dreams, thankfully, that he could remember.

-x-

Thatch sat in his room, frowning deeply at his hands. It was midnight and he still hadn't fallen asleep. Ace was miserable, and there was nothing he could do to help him. It wasn't like they could send him back to his own planet. And it seemed like every day Ace got worse. He was so social those first days, but now he left the galley as soon as he was finished with his food, or at least not long afterwards. He hid in the crowsnest or the corner of the library, alone. Thatch didn't know what to do to help. He couldn't change the opinions of those on the crew himself. He could try to convince them all he wanted, but that wasn't going to help anything.

He finally fell asleep way too late, only to get up just a few hours later to start cooking. When he got to the kitchen, he saw Ace at the bar counter, arms resting on the surface, his cast out of the sling. Thatch walked up behind him and to the kitchen, getting to work on breakfast. Ace's favorite was french toast. He never told the man that, but it was easy to see since he often got up to get seconds of the stack of french toast.

"Hey, Ace. Did you sleep well?" he asked cheerily, trying to sound sincere. Ace nodded, but didn't say anything for a good two minutes as Thatch cooked. He didn't make eye contact either.

"I'm sorry I kicked you out of the crowsnest last night," he finally said when some orange juice was given to him. "I didn't mean to be rude." Thatch waved his hand like it was no big deal, but Ace was still looking down, and didn't see it.

Thatch smiled a bit sadly. "I didn't take it personally. I wouldn't want someone I barely know to be there when I was going to become very upset. I get why you asked me to leave, and you weren't rude about it. You even said 'please'. So, I'm not upset about it. But still, I'm always open to talk. I know I may act childish, but I'm serious when I need to be. I'd never laugh at you or call you something bad because you got emotional."

Ace sniffled. "I want to go home. I miss my friends, and visiting Luffy and Sabo. I just left them there, I can never visit them again." Thatch knew that Ace was talking about his dead brothers, and visiting their graves, or whatever sayla did after loved ones died. Thatch clicked the stove off and walked over to comfort Ace. he put his hand on his head softly.

"I can understand. I didn't ask to join this crew or family. A plague spread on my island and almost everyone died. I was immune. All my family and friends were buried on that island, so when I left when I knew I couldn't be alone anymore, I felt so guilty for leaving them alone. After a while, though, I realized that they wouldn't have wanted me to stick around all alone for the rest of my life. I can carry them with me in my heart. It was an enlightening feeling. I'm sure your family wouldn't want you miserable about them. Family wants family to be happy."

Ace didn't say anything, but didn't pull away from the hand on his head. He looked and seemed so much younger right now. Not an adult, someone out of their teens. He seemed to shrink in on himself. Thatch hated it.

When Thatch started to take his hand away from Ace's head, his hand grabbed Thatch's to keep it there before he caught himself and let go, apologizing. "It's all good, Ace. Physical comfort can do a lot to help someone out." He nodded in agreement. Ace then asked what kind of things humans do. "Wel, holding hands is mostly for couples or people during difficult times. Hugging is something that everyone does. And kissing is for couples or a parent to the child sometimes."

Ace looked interested but like he didn't recognize the words. "What's hugging?" Thatch's jaw dropped. How could they not have hugging on their planet?! What kind of place was that?! Hugging was the best!

"Want me to show you?" he asked, wanting to give Ace a hug and show him how nice they felt. Ace nodded slowly, and Thatch walked around the corner, setting the pan of eggs on the counter so they didn't burn on the stove. Ace turned around on the bar stool and Thatch wrapped his arms around Ace. The sayla didn't know what to do, but after a few seconds hesitantly wrapped his arms around Thatch, too. He started to sob into Thatch's chest, and apologized for it, breaking the pirate's heart.

What kind of life did Ace lead after his brothers died? One of neglect and loneliness, if Thatch would be on anything. He rubbed Ace's back gently, the stitches still there. He hugged Ace until the young man got a hold of himself.

"I won't tell anyone about this if you don't want me to. This is a private moment," Thatch said once Ace released him and went back to looking at the counter. He said he didn't want anyone to know, and Thatch swore he wouldn't tell anyone, not even Pops.

Thatch gave Ace a big stack of french toast with powdered sugar on it. He ate it slowly, but seemed to enjoy the taste. Thatch was very happy that Ace liked human food, and hadn't had any allergic reactions to the many types of food Thatch had cooked since Ace fell out of the sky.

-x-

Hugging had felt really nice to Ace. it was warm and like someone was protecting him from something evil, or just trying to ward off sadness. Sayla didn't really hug, they pressed their foreheads together. He had asked Thatch if that was normal the day after his little meltdown, and the pirate chef had told him not many people did that unless they were lovers. So he didn't do it, but he hugged Thatch a lot.

Thatch was definitely Ace's favorite human now, and some people were not happy about it. Mainly, Haruta and Marco. Ace could see the cheeky grin the chef threw at his fellow commanders whenever Ace came to him. He didn't let it faze him much.

Over the past five days, Ace still isolated himself, but was much happier around Thatch. He was caring and kind and never looked down on Ace, even when he felt he was being rude. And he'd stopped apologizing to the chef about little things, even if he did so with others on the ship.

When they were going to stop at the first island, Ace was nervous. He didn't know what to expect since the last island had been deserted besides the Whitebeards being docked there. The next island was one under the Whitebeards, so Ace was told nothing bad would happen if he stayed with the commanders.

He did have to wear a Whitebeard t-shirt. It had the jolly roger on the back. Ace was very nervous, shifting from one foot to the other. Thatch put his arm around Ace's shoulders. "It'll be fine," he said in a chipper voice. "We're only going to go grocery shopping and then come back. Marco will be there, too. Nothing bad will happen," the chef assured. Marco was standing next to him as the crew easily docks at the dock made specifically for their ship by the residents of the island.

When they finally docked, Ace was antsy, a little excited but mostly nervous. But, hopefully this will be a distraction from his sadness. People on the ship still didn't like him, despite being there for over two weeks now and he had done nothing suspicious. He was the opposite of suspicious. He may be able to hide his tears, but his facial expressions give away what he was feeling like an open book.

Luffy had been the same. And Sabo was good at hiding his, keeping a blank mask on when needed or prefered. The moment the ramp was down, Thatch rolled a huge cart down it, which they would put the food in.

"You're gonna meet some new crew members today, so don't be nervous. They were on a mission when we were on the other island, and this is the meeting place," Thatch explained as Ace walked next to him, in between Marco and Thatch.

Marco grinned. "Just be prepared for Teach. He may look a bit evil at first, but he's a nice guy. Been on the crew since he was twelve. He declined being the second division commander, though. I can see why, it's a lot of work, but it's worth it," the phoenix explained. Ace nodded, listening while looking everywhere at the same time.

He felt safer with Marco and Thatch. Marco mostly. He hadn't seen Thatch fight much, but he'd seen Marco. There had been a pirate raid on the ship and Ace had gone inside for it, but not before seeing Marco break someone's neck with a kick. It made him uneasy, but not afraid of the first mate. Ace trusted him like he trusted Thatch, though he felt more comfort when being around the latter.

Marco was a very nice person, but his emotions weren't open, and Ace was used to people being honest and open with each other; humans weren't. So, with Thatch being so open and expressive, Ace thought he was more familiar. Thatch was a very good person, Ace knew that already.

They went to a market, bustling with humans, and filled the cart with produce and meat and fish, before going to a shop to get non-perishables. Ace's hands were twitching, nervous, but Thatch was pushing both carts.

Marco noticed Ace fidgeting with his hands and looking at Thatch's and suddenly took Ace's left hand. Almost immediately, some of the tension in Ace's freckled shoulders went away. It was a nice feeling, and Marco's hand was bigger than his.

Ace didn't understand the looks he was being given for holding another man's hand. Marco didn't seem to care, but Ace was confused. "What's wrong with them?" he asked, finally, after a man walked in the other direction.

"It doesn't really matter, but they probably think it's weird we're holding hands," Marco explained simply, but didn't let go of Ace's hand. Ace asked why, not understanding why people wouldn't like that. "Mostly couples hold each others' hands. And a lot couples are different genders, instead of same-sex couples. It's a human stigma, but I don't care much. You shouldn't either."

Ace frowned. Back at his home, sayla were open about if they were with a same sex partner. No one looked disgusted at it. Ace removed Marco's hand, not wanting to make him look bad if people didn't like that. "You can hold my hand if it makes you feel more at ease," the pirate said in a simple voice. Didn't sound bothered a bit.

"No, I'm okay now," Ace said. He didn't see Thatch glaring at Marco, who was wearing a smirk, as Ace looked around the store with them. Ace was interested in the human food, and Marco bought him some candy.

"Don't eat it yet, we have to pay for it," Marco said when Ace was about to reach a hand into the bag of candy and eat it. So, Ace put it in the giant cart that was quickly filling up. There were a lot of things that looked similar to his world, but less advanced. But it was interesting for him, better than being on the ship and having people not welcome him. Everyone here thought he was just a normal human. And though he was proud to be a sayla and wished he could be himself, it was nice to just be treated normal.

Maybe living by himself wouldn't be so bad after learning more about the world. He wasn't sure what he could do to change the opinions of the pirates that _still _didn't trust or like him there, since he'd done nothing to give off the impression he was an uncontrollable monster.

After they were done shopping, Ace scarfed down the bag of candy. "This is pretty good," he said enthusiastically. Hadn't been this content since falling out of the sky. Now he looked forward to going on to more islands. Safe ones, that is.

"I'll try making some hard candies sometime soon," Thatch said, as the three were heading back to the ship, taking a shortcut that Marco and the chef knew. It was down a path that cut across the forest so they didn't need to walk around it.

Thatch was humming before he looked to the side and then set the cart down. Ace watched him walk away a bit towards an apple tree, though the apple Thatch picked didn't look like one at all, and then Ace recognized it. He'd read the entire devil fruit encyclopedia after all, and was interested while he read it.

"That's the dark-dark fruit," Ace observed when Thatch came over and shouted he'd found a devil fruit. "It's a logia fruit." Marco and Thatch looked at him strangely. "I read the devil fruit encyclopedia when I first got here," he explained.

"What's it do?" Thatch wondered, sticking it on top of all of the food they'd bought, and staring at it excitedly.

Ace listed off what he remembered, and Marco looked concerned that a fruit this powerful actually existed. "Man, I would not want my worst enemy to get this. Are you going to eat it, Thatch?" Marco asked curiously. Ace watched as well before Thatch shrugged.

"I like swimming, but having a devil fruit would be awesome. I could become strong like Marco and Jozu are with their fruits," Thatch replied. "I wonder what would happen if Ace ate it," he pondered.

"I don't want it," he said immediately. "The only fruit I'd actually want to have is the one where you can turn anything into food. Then I could help Thatch out with food and you all wouldn't need to spend so much money."

"Awwww, you're so sweet Ace," Thatch cooed. Blue tinted Ace's cheeks. He was just being honest. Plus, he could have whatever food he wanted. Though he'd need things to change into food. "You're probably the kindest person I've ever met."

Ace shrugged. "I don't do it to be kind, I just act like myself. I don't fake things like that, or think about it much," he replied, the blue tint gradually fading. Marco was smiling softly.

"You know, you said 'you all'... You're on our ship, too, Ace. Shouldn't it be 'we' or 'us'?" the phoenix asked. Ace's face fell a bit.

He frowned, and said, "It doesn't feel like that. Feels like I'm just passing through." Marco's smile left and his brows furrowed, while Thatch's face pinched a bit. They both sighed.

Thatch said, "I know it doesn't help much, but this happened with Namur, too. The stigma against fishmen was strong. Pops, and many of us, supported Namur joining, while many, _many, _did not want him on the ship. Things obviously changed since he's now a commander, but this situation mirrors that one." Ace looked curious, but not happy anymore.

He asked why Namur stayed if he was treated so badly. "He wanted a family. Pops welcomed him so he took the opportunity, and bit the bullet until everyone accepted him. Things change, whether it happens sooner or later, you will be welcomed on our ship," Marco replied, voice strong and forceful.

"I don't want a replacement family," Ace said simply. Marco put his arm around Ace's shoulders, probably knowing Ace was no longer happy and was more sad now.

"There's no way we'd be a replacement family. Luffy and Sabo will _always_ be your brothers, no matter if they are gone or not. We would like you to be part of our family, but you don't need to think of it that way. You can be on our crew, and a friend instead of a brother, no matter how much Thatch likes to think you're his little brother," Marco said.

"Okay," Ace replied, not sure how to reply. Marco sounded very sincere, and Ace knew he meant well. But Ace was a completely different case. It wasn't that he just wasn't human, he wasn't even from their planet. Namur came from the sea, on earth. Ace fell out of the sky, blue and unknown. It would be harder to accept something you have never come across before. Ace understood that, and tried to take that into account, but it still hurt to be treated like someone who was disgusting or suspicious.

He lost his thought when they had to push the very heavy cart up the ramp, Ace pulling up while Thatch pushed from the back. Marco went off somewhere else while Ace helped Thatch put away and sort the food. They were joined by some of Thatch's division, who many were sou chefs as well. Those commanders who welcomed Ace usually had more subordinates that agreed. So many of Thatch, Marco, Izo and Haruta's divisions liked the sayla.

The others who hated Ace had members who felt the same as their commander. Kingdew's division was mad at Ace and blamed him for their commander being suspended. Even if there was only a little bit left of his suspension.

Before dinner, Ace went up to the crowsnest, only looking over the edge, making his upper body human colored, when those that had been on a mission arrived. Pirates went to greet them happily, and Ace wondered if these people would hate him, too. His eyes were drawn to one of the men who was very big and fat, and a chill went up his spine when the guy looked up at Ace.

The sayla turned away, and had extremely wide eyes. That guy made him very uneasy. He could hear his laugh and it sounded cruel. Marco had said that Teach _looked _evil, but he wasn't. Ace had never thought someone looked evil, but this human certainly did. He didn't like him, not at all. But, if Ace voiced that, people would just hate him more, even if he was being honest. And it was hard to hide his feelings. His fear might show in front of that guy, Teach.

While Ace didn't care much about being called a coward if he was running to not hurt someone else, he didn't particularly want the mean pirates to have another reason for him not being welcome. Being spineless.

Ace finally bit the bullet and climbed down the crowsnest to meet the new people. Marco was there, and he introduced Ace to Teach and the twelve other guys he didn't know. Ace kept from making eye contact with Teach, he felt like a slimy person.

"So you're the sayla?" a man with black hair and a slightly crooked nose asked. Ace was glad that they didn't address him as alien. Marco must have told them not to. Ace nodded. "Can I see what you really look like?" Ace didn't know whether he should, but he did. He changed into blue, his white freckles showing up in the darkness like they glowed. They didn't, they were just so pure white that they stood out.

"That's really cool," the man said. "My name is Akane. It's nice to meet you, Ace. I'd be so interested to hear about your world sometime." Ace decided he liked Akane. He was polite and respectful to Ace, at least so far.

"My name is Teach, nice to meet you Ace," the creepy man said. Ace got a look at his teeth, and it looked like he got into a lot of fights. He was missing quite a few. He also saw guns in his waistband. A weapon that Izo had taught him about. He sure was a hairy man, as well, but it was his smile and laugh that made Ace have chills up his spine.

"Nice to meet you," Ace said automatically, and shook his hand. Immediately, Ace wanted to wash it. He felt he was being mean and shallow, because the guy was creepy looking, but he just gave off this feel that no one else seemed to be noticing. Maybe he was just being silly… but he couldn't be around the man any longer. "Well, I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow, Marco."

"Night Ace, sleep tight," Marco said and ruffled Ace's hair in an affectionate way. Ace nodded and went inside, finding his room and pushing the dresser in front of the closed door. This was not going to be enjoyable. Maybe he should leave.

The next day, Ace did everything possible to avoid Teach. He talked with Akane and some of the others from the mission that they returned from, and they seemed like nice enough people. No one called him alien. And Teach approached him multiple times throughout the day. Well, until noon when he got an even worse feeling from the man. One that had him scared for someone else. Someone he cared about.

It was after lunch when Thatch pulled out the devil fruit he found in front of Whitebeard and some of the commanders. Ace was sitting on the railing and watching Thatch talk about the fruit he'd found. He seemed so excited, but was also torn on whether to eat it or not. It had been an accident when he looked to the back at just the right moment. Teach's face looked shocked, before he downed an evil grin with scary eyes.

After that, Ace stuck to Thatch like glue. He didn't want to tell anyone that he thought Teach might hurt Thatch. If he was wrong, then no one would want to keep him at all if he talked badly about one of their friends that had been part of the crew since childhood. Thatch wasn't complaining about Ace sticking close, helping him in the kitchen, and just going everywhere with him.

He could tell Marco thought something was wrong, and he approached Ace when Thatch was in the bathroom and Ace was standing by the door. "Hey Ace, are you alright?" he asked. Ace nodded. "Are you sure? You look kind of freaked out, all day today." When Ace looked very unsure, Marco added, "You can tell me if something is bothering you."

Ace bit his lip, brows furrowed before he sighed. He knew Marco wouldn't hate him. Hopefully. "I don't like Teach." Marco frowned, and Ace thought he shouldn't have said anything.

"Did he do something? I know he's not exactly handsome, but he's a good person." Ace knew that would be the reply. And he didn't want to put down someone Marco cared about. "I'm not mad if you tell me what's bothering you. Is it why you won't leave Thatch all day?" The sayla nodded.

He licked his lips before deciding to tell the truth. He wouldn't be with anyone else but Marco or Thatch. He hadn't connected with anyone else much. Haruta seemed to have backed off a bit, and Whitebeard was always busy and Ace was never around him to casually talk to. "When Thatch announced the devil fruit, Teach looked really wicked. He looked shocked, and then grinned this scary smile."

Marco was taking his confession seriously. "And that's why you are staying with Thatch? Cause you're worried about his safety?" Ace nodded. "I'm sure Teach won't do anything. He's been here so long. If he wanted the fruit, he could just ask and Thatch might give it to him."

Ace didn't reply, knowing it was a lost cause. His suspicion wasn't enough to make someone turn against their friend. "Nevermind," he said. Marco looked guilty, but then Thatch came out.

Thatch and Ace left the hallway, Thatch sharing his pranking secrets and trying to get Ace to take part.

"They'd hate me more if I pranked them," Ace said when he was asked to partake again. "I don't want to cause more problems for myself or others." Thatch pouted. Throughout the day, when Ace saw Marco, he was usually watching Teach, and it made Ace feel better that Marco was being watchful as well, even if he didn't believe Ace's suspicion would turn into anything.

But Marco had to go do paperwork at the end of the day. He hadn't seen anything like Ace had. It had just been a split second sight when Teach looked so scary. When it got dark out, Ace became more uneasy. "Why aren't you keeping it in your room?" Ace asked when Thatch was carrying it around with him.

"I'm really trying to decide whether I want to eat it or not," Thatch said, standing by the railing and looking at the moon reflected on the water. Ace casually said he should decide soon. "I'll decide by tonight. Someone might steal it from me if I keep it any longer." Thatch turned around and leaned against the railing, staring at it. "Marco said they taste horrible and the taste stayed on his tongue for days. That would suck, but having some cool ability would be awesome."

The two headed to the crowsnest to hang out, even though Ace was exhausted and wanted to go to bed, he'd stay with Thatch for now. Worried about his friend, and Marco didn't believe him. If Marco didn't, no one else would. Ace was alone in this.

Ace walked to the crowsnest, and hadn't known Thatch had stopped to fix one of the buttons that had came undone on his shirt's cuff. Ace's eyes widened in dread when a shadow was coming up behind Thatch. Ace kicked off from the ground so hard and propelled himself forward in a flash, and stood in front of Thatch's back right before Teach pulled a knife on him. Ace knew that the pirates had haki, so Thatch should have been able to detect him. He just had no reason to suspect any ill intent from his family.

Thatch didn't even know what had happened before the knife that was supposed to go through his back went through Ace's chest. He screamed, having not expected it to break the skin. Thatch whipped around and saw Ace standing with a knife in his pectoral, blood pouring from it and staining the shirt. He shouted Ace's name, and the devil fruit was tossed over the side of the ship on accident. Teach jumped overboard to try and get it, but the fruit had sunk too fast for him.

Ace collapsed into Thatch's arms.

* * *

**Bam! Cliffhanger! Mwahaha, see you next week. ;)**


	6. Healing

**blueflamegoddess: Don't worry, Teach will pay.**

**WhiteyWolf26: Cliffhangers are fun to do to others, but not what they're done to me. ;)**

**sweetcupcake2234: Hopefully. Ace is a baby cinnamon bun he's so sweet. And I really like your story about dragon Luffy! There aren't enough dragon AUs out there so I write a ton!**

* * *

**Sorry not sorry about the cliffhanger! Mwahaha! Be joyous to know the fluffy romance starts this chapter! Brief, but it begins! The POV changes to only Ace and Marco from now on. Features impossible surgery. Just a heads up!**

* * *

"_ACE!_ Oh my god, what do I do? Are you alright? Of course you're not alright. HELP! Someone help!" Thatch screamed hysterically. Ace was soaked in blood, and his breathing was becoming quicker. Thatch was soon surrounded by people, Marco one of them. Ace still had the knife in his chest.

Marco was horrified, the only one to realize the knife must be through Ace's heart, which was why it was bleeding so badly. "Thatch, what the hell happened?!" Marco shouted, picking Ace up gently, who was breathing shuddering breaths, and he looked terrified and panicking.

"Teach stabbed him! I didn't even know he was _there _before Ace was behind me and started screaming!" Thatch shouted hysterically. Ace was being taken to the infirmary quickly, leaving a trail of blood. The blood drained out of Marco's face. Then a true face of regret was on his face.

Ace was still conscious, even though Marco couldn't figure out how he wasn't dead yet, and put a shaking hand on Marco's face above him. "He-'s y-our fr-iend," he said faintly, before he passed out. He'd seen the guilt and regret on Marco's face, and just tried reassuring Marco when _he _was the one with a dagger in his chest.

"Thatch, where is Teach now?" Marco asked in a wavering voice as they got closer to the infirmary. Ace had turned back to being blue, his dark blue blood everywhere. Thatch said Teach had jumped over the side of the ship after the devil fruit fell into the water. Marco swore, and laid Ace on the bed.

He needed to make sure nothing happened with Teach, but he couldn't bring himself to leave Ace. It was his fault for not believing Ace when he expressed concern. Thatch was sobbing by the bed as the nurses got to work removing the knife carefully.

To Thatch and Marco's horror, Whiskey looked resigned. "The knife went through his heart. He doesn't have much time left," Whiskey said quietly. Marco grabbed one hand while Thatch took the other, now on opposite sides of the bed. Ace's breathing was growing quicker as more blood flowed out.

A good minute later, Ace was still breathing, and Whiskey looked thoroughly confused. She took the stethoscope and put it right next to where the knife was and Ace's heart. The beating had stopped, but Ace was still breathing. Whiskey's eyes widened and she moved the instrument over other parts of Ace's torso before a spot in the middle of his chest, to the right and a bit below his dead heart. She heard faint beating, and a determined look came across her face.

"Get Akira now," she commanded, and Thatch got up and ran to get the surgeon. He wasn't used much, but was vital when things went too far south for the nurses to handle. "He has a second heart. He might make it. We have to do surgery on him. He might live, but you need to leave, Marco," Whiskey said. Marco hadn't even noticed he had tears down his face. Ace might die because he didn't believe him. He thought Ace only thought Teach looked unsettling. Marco should have believed him. He should have _been there! _Ace couldn't die, Marco couldn't lose him, Thatch couldn't lose him.

Marco was ushered out when Akira entered, putting on gloves immediately, with a face mask and gown on. Marco ended up outside the infirmary doors, shut behind him. There was a small crowd outside of the room.

The phoenix wanted to stay with Thatch, who was sobbing uncontrollably, sitting with his head in his knees, but Marco had to take care of Teach. He flew out of the ship, and found Teach looked absolutely furious. It looked like the fruit had sunk too fast. Marco flew to him and gripped his head in his phoenix talon, shoving him into the deck, splintering in the wood.

"Teach, what have you done," Marco said in a cold and flat voice. "Do you realize you will be executed for this?"

"Fuck off, Marco," Teach growled, trying to get out of Marco's grip, who only tightened his grasp and draw blood from the sides of Teach's head. He screamed. Marco released him, but before Teach could try and do anything, he kicked the back of Teach's knee in just the right place, breaking it so Teach screamed and fell to the ground. Next, Marco broke both wrists so he couldn't pull anything. His weapons were all gone, probably in the ocean after jumping in to get the fruit. The one that he'd tried to kill Thatch for.

Marco grabbed his hair and dragged him inside and through the halls. Pops was probably sleeping, and hadn't heard about what had happened yet. After all, there weren't many people out on deck when it happened. Only Ace and Thatch. Teach was screaming the whole time, yelling obscenities and trying to get out of Marco's iron tight grip.

He threw Pops' door open and dragged Teach inside, waking the captain immediately. "Pops, I have bad news. We have a traitor on the ship," and the first mate threw Teach down onto the floor in front of Whitebeard's bed. He turned the light on.

"What happened, Marco?" the captain asked in a tight voice. Something had clearly happened, as Marco was covered in blue blood that most certainly wasn't his own.

A look of pure shame crossed over Marco's face, and he pictured Ace just yesterday, holding his hand and eating candy. Telling Thatch he would want a power just to help him out when cooking. Someone so pure of heart could not be murdered. It wasn't right, or fair. Ace had protected Thatch. He couldn't die for that.

"I just found Thatch screaming over Ace's bleeding body. This piece of filth tried stabbing Thatch, but Ace took the blow for him. He protected him, Pops. Teach wanted the devil fruit. And… It's all my fault," Marco said with a broken voice, a choke in his voice at the thought of how he could have prevented Ace's possible death if he'd just believed the sayla.

"Son, how is this your fault?" the captain asked in bafflement before putting his foot on Teach to keep him from trying to escape, not that he could. Marco had broken his knee and his hands were useless now.

Marco took a shuddering voice. "You know how he's been sticking with Thatch all day? More than usual? He was concerned over Thatch's safety, and knew no one would believe him. He told me and I didn't believe him. How could _he _see it but _we _couldn't?" he asked in a whisper, looking at the blood all over his hands and arms. It made him want to throw up. He'd never been squeamish about blood, but it was his friend's blood.

"Stupid alien brat! I would have finally gotten the fruit and now it's ruined! I hope he DIES!" Teach raged. Marco walked forward and formed his phoenix foot and dug it into the side of Teach's torso, drawing blood as the sharp talons pierced his skin.

"Ace won't die, prick," Marco said in a cold voice, despite the warm tears of guilt and worry down his face.

"Teach, why have you done this?" Whitebeard questioned in a dark voice, that was also saturated in sadness. "You would kill Thatch, for a devil fruit? You could have just asked, but now I'm glad you will never have that fruit's power." Teach said nothing, just glowered before Whitebeard loudly commanded him to answer. Teach flinched, probably never been on the receiving end of that tone of voice. If it was aimed at Marco, he'd flinch, too.

"So I could kill you and become the Pirate King!" Teach finally exploded. He was bloody and unable to walk, unable to hold anything even if he did have access to any weapons. He was helpless. Whitebeard's face grew incredibly dark and cold. Marco couldn't remember the last time he saw Pops so angry.

"We're taking him to the brig for now. We will determine the death later. For now, lock him up, no food and no water." Marco nodded, and left to get some rope to tie him up. The captain grabbed Teach and dragged him towards the brig. People were in the halls, and were wondering what on earth happened, probably hearing the shouting that had come from his bedroom. But, no one asked, sensing how angry the captain was.

Marco met him on the lowest floor with the rope, and tied Teach's hands together, and then his legs. They didn't have any handcuffs that would fit Teach so they used rope and attached it to the chain high above his head, and then shut and locked the cell door. Marco gave him one last look of disdain before both he and the captain left him, in the dark and coldness, swearing at them.

When both pirates made it to the infirmary, multiple commanders and pirates stood outside the door, trying to get a peek inside, but the curtains were drawn around the windows in the double doors. Hartua asked what had happened and Marco explained why Teach had done what he had. Thatch was still sobbing by the door, feeling too guilty for Ace to take the blow for him and possibly - if not most likely - die.

Marco sat next to Thatch. Some of the commanders looked shocked, those who hadn't gotten along with Thatch's savior. Thatch glared up at Kingdew and Atmos, who were on the other side of the hallway against the wall facing the door.

"Thanks a lot for making the last few weeks of his life miserable," Thatch said in a venomous voice. Ace had been miserable here for the last two weeks. And now that Ace had saved Thatch, _now _they might accept him. Not because of who he was, but that he saved Thatch. But he might die from this. They didn't know much about Ace's body, and that might have been a huge mistake.

Atmos and Kingdew frowned, but didn't apologize. No one spoke for the next two hours of sitting or standing outside the door. Whiskey finally came out, and said only three people were allowed inside. Those three being Thatch, Marco and Pops. Poor Haruta wasn't invited, and he hated that. He wanted to be closer to Ace, but Thatch and Marco were his favorites. It hurt him a bit, but he'd keep trying to be Ace's friend when he was comfortable with him.

Ace was pale in the bed, bandages over his chest. Akira was disposing of the gloves in the biohazard trash can and taking off the scrubs. "He needed open chest surgery to remove his dead heart and attempt to attach the major blood vessels to his other heart. He's still alive, but we don't know how his body will react to this. His breathing became quicker after attaching the blood vessels. Probably because more blood is circulating through his heart, which sped up once the surgery was done," the surgeon explained.

Ace's breathing was quicker than before, and Thatch walked to him, feeling his neck gently and feeling the rapid pulse of his heartbeat. "What will the long term effects be?" Marco asked, holding Ace's limp hand. Maybe he could hear and feel them, and Marco wanted to comfort him in any way, since it was all his fault that he wasn't there.

"No idea. I've never performed surgery on a non-human before. Especially one with two hearts. It was a risky surgery, but if the heart was left in, it would have been bad. The best thing to do was remove the heart and attach the blood vessels into the second heart. He would be dead right now if he had a human body. It might also be the reason he is so strong, having two hearts. But that's just speculation."

Thatch knelt down so he was level to Ace's head. He had sweat on his face, and he looked pained, even if he was asleep. "Thank you, Ace," Thatch whispered. He put his forehead to Ace's in the sayla's way of comforting. Marco already had heard about that, but the nurses hadn't and looked at Thatch a little strangely. So Marco explained.

"Sayla's don't hug, they press their foreheads together for comfort," he said simply. The strange looks on the nurses' and surgeron's faces went away with understanding.

-x-

Thatch and Marco stayed with Ace for the next three hours, before Ace's eyes fluttered open. He looked confused and scared. He looked to the side to see Thatch and Marco leaning against each other, backs against a bed next to Ace's. Thatch looked fine and safe. He was so thankful.

Ace noticed he was breathing rather quickly, but couldn't seem to stop it. He felt light headed, and then remembered he'd been stabbed in the heart. One of them. He pulled the sheets off of his chest, and saw some bandages wrapped around him, some dots of dark blue blood in multiple places. What did they do to him?

His mouth was dry, and he saw a bottle of water next to the bed, and reached out with his good arm to drink it. He didn't move his torso at all, not knowing what had happened to his chest while he was asleep. Whiskey seemed to have noticed he was awake and hurried over.

"Hey, Ace. How are you feeling?" the nurse asked quietly.

"Breathing fast and I can't stop it," Ace said in concern. "My head hurts, and my chest aches. What did you do to me?" he asked in worry. Whiskey didn't let it show that she was hurt Ace was so suspicious of them. And they had helped Ace before, she wished he trusted her and Tami.

Whiskey pulled the doctor's chair over and sat next to the bed. "We had to remove one of your hearts. It was mangled beyond our ability to fix it. We were able to redirect the blood flow into your second heart. It was all we could do. Since the blood is pumping faster now, you will breathe quicker, and possibly overexert yourself much quicker. It was all we could do to keep you alive."

Ace nodded in understanding. He would rather be alive with health problems than dead. For a little while before he passed out, Ace looked forward to seeing his brothers again, hoping there really was something, anything, after death. Now, he didn't want to die, though. Even if he could possibly see his brothers again, they'd be mad at him for dying.

Marco woke up after Ace did, and got up so Thatch fell to the side and hit the floor. He hurried the short distance to Ace, and knelt by the bed much like Thatch had done earlier. Ace was surprised when tears dripped down the usually stoic Marco's face. Ace wiped them away with his good hand with a small smile.

"Wasn't your fault," he said simply, though his voice was slightly breathless with his new rapid breathing.

"Yes it was. You _told _me and I didn't believe it," Marco said miserably. "I should have listened. I'm so sorry." Thatch was awake and looked confused. He hadn't heard about this, as Ace had not told him his suspicions. "Why didn't you tell Pops, or even Thatch to look out?" Marco questioned.

Ace sighed, "No one would have ever welcomed me if I talked badly about their friend with no proof or evidence. I didn't want to make anyone angry. I just thought I'd be there if anything happened." Then he looked down. "I wouldn't care about running and being called a coward, but I should have disarmed him or hurt him to get away from Thatch instead of letting myself get stabbed."

Marco put his hand on Ace's forehead. "You saved Thatch, and are alive now. That's what matters most." Ace didn't say anything about the health issues he might have. He wasn't happy with them, or what else could happen from losing one of his hearts. Hopefully he'd survive. No one knew what would happen next, and that scared Ace. Although he knew on his planet his heart could not have been saved, he could have been able to get a transplant. Here, there were no sayla donors. He didn't even know if there _were _organ donors on this planet.

He didn't remove the hand from his forehead, because it was soft and warm. Marco's thumb started tracing the area right above his eyebrow. Ace looked at him and saw he was no longer there, lost in thoughts. He was probably not even noticing he was doing it. Thatch did, and looked at him strangely before chuckling.

It broke Marco out of his trance and he took his hand away, looking slightly embarrassed. Ace had never seen him look embarrassed since he didn't show a lot of his emotions on his face. Unlike Ace and Thatch. When Ace tried to sit up, Thatch gently pushed him back down. "You are going to take it easy until you heal," he said sternly. Ace frowned, but knew he was right. But Ace would be very bored if he had to stay in bed the whole time.

"What happened to Teach? Did he get the fruit?" Ace asked, trying to distract himself from his injury and wondering how long it would take to heal. He knew he would get used to the breathing quicker than he had been. A small price to pay for being alive.

Marco shook his head, still looking a bit uncomfortable about earlier, even though Ace and Thatch had both moved on. "Thatch accidentally threw the fruit into the sea, where it sunk. The traitor tried to go get it, but it was too late. He's locked inside the brig right now. The jail area in the ship. He'll face severe punishment. The rule is that if you kill, or try to, another on the crew they are executed."

Ace's face scrunched up. Teach was evil, going to kill Thatch for a fruit, but did that mean he had to die? "Rules are rules, Ace. If you break rules on a pirate ship, and don't get punished for it, chaos unfolds. We have to enforce them and Teach did a horrendous thing that can't just be forgiven or brushed off," Marco said strongly. Ace nodded.

"Even though Teach's actions might cause you life long health problems, you don't want him dead?" Thatch asked slowly. Ace thought for a moment. He didn't want to be the reason for someone's death, but Teach was planning on murdering Thatch. That was really, really wrong, and yeah, he should be punished. And what punishment would be worse than death? Ace didn't know what torture was, so he wasn't thinking of that.

Ace slowly replied, "I don't know. I don't know what other punishment would be bad, though. Not just cleaning duty or no alcohol."

Marco sat on his heels, he and Thatch still on the ground next to Ace's bed, where he was still on his back, not even propped up a little bit. Ace was really injured. "You don't know what torture is?" the phoenix asked. Ace shook his head. "Better to not know, then." Ace furrowed his brows, but didn't particularly want to hear that humans did something else really bad.

Whiskey came out with a natural drink that was not medication to help put Ace to sleep. It was a strong sedative, but from a plant, something less likely to react badly with Ace's non-human body. "Alright, time for you two to leave. Ace needs more rest," she said, and shooed Thatch and Marco out. Ace had woken up when Whitebeard wasn't with them.

"Feel better, Ace. don't worry about anything other than getting back on your feet. Thank you, again," Thatch said sincerely. Ace nodded, and Whiskey helped him drink the warm tea. It had a tangy taste, not the most delicious food, but it did knock him out. The last thing he saw was Whiskey turning the lamp near his bed off. It was still the middle of the night.


	7. One Sided Feelings

**WhiteyWolf26: Tons of fluff to come!**

**Surprise, surpsied, I posted another story! It's Marco x Ace again. Hope you go check it out. Enjoy~**

The second the two left the room, Thatch burst into quiet giggles as he watched Marco, who was scowling, face red. "Acey-chan is adorable, is he not?" the chef asked in a gloating voice. Marco gave him a death glare, and Thatch ran away laughing. "Goodnight, mother-hen!" he shouted before sprinting into his room and locking the door behind him.

Marco stomped to his room, which was two doors down from Thatch's. His face was still red when he went in his bedroom, closing the door and locking it behind him. Marco sat on his bed, hunched over. Even if Ace forgave him and said it wasn't his fault, Marco hadn't believed him. Would that be detrimental to their friendship? That Marco didn't believe in his suspicion. If it weren't for Ace, Thatch would be dead and Teach would be practically invincible against them.

Ace probably didn't just save Thatch, but the entire crew. That fruit was way too overpowered. But his thoughts were wrenched to the image of Ace bleeding all over his chest and arms as he carried him to the infirmary. Ace's dying words could have been telling Marco that he didn't blame him.

Tears welled up Marco's eyes, and he wiped them quickly, taking a few deep breaths. He would never not feel guilty for this. He couldn't forgive himself for this. Never, no matter how hard someone tried to convince him it wasn't his fault.

Maybe it wasn't his fault that Teach was a traitor, but if he had been there like he _should _have, Ace might not be in the infirmary missing a damn _heart. _And to be honest, Ace's forgiveness was worse than if he blamed the man completely.

Marco took his shirt and shoes off and just crawled into bed, laying his head on the pillow and trying to go to sleep. He wanted to forget about everything that day, and just sleep. But he couldn't get Ace's bloody body out of his mind. When did he come to care about him so much? He was just so kind and honest and open. Marco didn't think, in all his life, he'd met anyone like that. He honestly didn't think people like that existed after all he'd seen and been through.

And yeah, Ace was not from earth, but still. Marco could not believe his siblings didn't welcome him. He was a better person than all of them. Hadn't ever killed or purposely hurt anyone, or _wanted _to hurt anyone. Any of them would have killed Teach on the spot. And while that would have been better than Ace being affected in the long-term, Ace still stuck to his decision not to harm anyone.

Maybe he was too soft to be a pirate. But Marco didn't want him to leave. And since they were responsible for that injury, it would be wrong to pawn him off somewhere else like he was a nuisance. Especially not after he saved Thatch. This was excluding the fact he didn't know anyone and barely anything important about the world. How to live like a normal human.

In the morning, Marco went straight to the infirmary to check on Ace. He was in his normal skin color, white freckles dusted across his cheeks and nose. Drool was coming out of his mouth as he head was turned to the side. It made Marco quietly chuckle. Seeing Ace was doing alright, even if he was still breathing quicker, Marco felt alright going to breakfast.

The galley felt gloomy. Pirates looked miserable or angry. It was to be expected, Teach tried to kill Thatch. Everyone would be upset like that. Thatch was cooking, and setting aside food in a container to bring to Ace later. He was cooking, but looked like he was just on autopilot. Marco sat at the space where Ace usually did. Thatch looked up at him and pouted, looking away.

"Ace isn't coming to breakfast, deal with it," Marco said in a bored voice. "I checked on him before coming here. He's still asleep, drooling all over the pillow." He wore a fond smile that Thatch mirrored perfectly.

"Commanders, how is Ace? I only heard about him a few minutes ago," Nick said uncertainty, one of the members that was closer to the sayla. Thatch sighed and turned away, not wanting to talk about it. So the duty fell on Marco.

"The nurses and Akira think he'll live, but will have some health problems due to it. But, he's alive. He protected Thatch with his body. Whiskey won't allow any visitors besides the higher ups for now. You know how it is," Marco explained. Nick bit his lip and looked down.

"Thanks for telling me, commander Marco," the pirate said and went back to sit at the table that Ace was missing from. Whenever Thatch was cooking, Ace would sit at the bar counter, but when people started really eating, Ace would move to his usual table.

Thatch kept sneaking glances at Marco, who was observing everyone as they ate sadly. He turned to his own plate, not too hungry, when Thatch put his hand on Marco's forehead. Marco pushed it off, but this was what Thatch wanted.

"What, you can do it to others and they can't do it to you?" he asked with an amused grin. Marco scowled, knowing what this was about. Thatch chuckled, and Marco felt like throwing something at him. He took some calming breaths. "Ace sure is cute when he sleeps, huh?" Thatch said, making Marco grind his teeth. He didn't lose his temper, not with Thatch. He'd built up a special tolerance for Thatch and Haruta's bullshit.

"I won't tell anyone about your cute little thing with Acey-chan last night. Pinky swears," Thatch taunted, moving his hand to in front of Marco, who scoffed. How was Thatch in his forties? Marco didn't reach his pinky out, thinking that would be stupid.

"If you say anything, I'll have to take drastic measures," Marco grumbled.

Thatch chuckled. "Not a very responsible thing to be said by the first mate to one of his subordinates," he said, taking his hand away. Marco finished his food, and put the plate in the sink, before Thatch tossed a big container at him. If he didn't have haki, he wouldn't have seen it coming. It was a plastic container filled with Ace's favorites. "Go, take it to him."

Marco frowned, but took the container filled with french toast and Ace's favorites maple sausages, a few hard boiled eggs cut into small pieces, with a fork and knife. Marco walked to the infirmary, suddenly looking forward to seeing Ace again, hoping he was awake. He shook his head, and tried convincing himself that everything was normal. That he wasn't thinking of Ace's adorable white freckles, or him comforting him last night before he was about to die. Or when he wiped Marco's tears away and let him touch his forehead.

Ace was still unknown in many aspects. Marco wondered if he would even notice if Marco seemed awkward around him. He didn't want the sayla to notice or he might take it the wrong way. When he entered the infirmary, Ace was awake, and Whiskey was very slowly propping the bed up.

"Oh, Marco, I was just about to go get him some breakfast," the nurse said. Marco nodded and walked to Ace and handed him the container. "Thatch made your favorites," the first mate said. Ace smiled softly, and used his left hand to hold the fork, not even cutting the sausages, just stabbing them and eating them off the fork. Holding a knife was hard for him with having one of his arms in a cast.

"Thanks," Ace replied, and ate his food happily, though he looked a bit sluggish. Marco hoped that was normal. Ace was also a bit sweaty, and only had bandages on and no shirt. He had part of his legs under a blanket, but most of him was out. He was in a pair of pyjama pants that he'd been changed into in the morning most likely.

"Are you okay? You're pretty sweaty," Marco said in concern. Ace nodded, and Whiskey said that his body was trying to get used to the change. "It's working? That really worked?" the man asked in shock. He thought it would go much worse.

Whiskey nodded, and Tami came in with a cool pitcher of water and put it on Ace's bedside table. "So far, he's fine. There have been no alarming increases or decreases in blood pressure. His body is adapting well. He'll still be in here for a while, at least to sleep, but he's doing remarkably well after losing one of his vital organs. Thank goodness he had a second one." Marco nodded in agreement.

Ace didn't join in the conversation, instead seeming lost in his own thoughts, golden eyes staring up at the ceiling. Marco thought his natural eye color was much better than the grey he wore around the rest of the crew and in public. The zoan looked at Ace's hand, thinking about how warm it had been when he was walking in the town, just a few days ago. When he was fine and perfectly healthy. Not anymore.

Finally, Ace spoke, asking, "When will I be able to leave the infirmary?"

Whiskey replied, "Not for at least five days. Most patients who have had open heart surgery leave within four to seven days. Your case is completely different than most. You won't be exerting anymore than slowly walking for a while and coming in for regular check ups. Your heart has to get used to the changes before you can start anything vigorous." Ace nodded in understanding and acceptance.

Marco turned to Ace, and said, "Thank you for trying to comfort me when you were hurt." Ace looked confused, and asked what happened. Marco wasn't surprised that he didn't remember it. "After you were stabbed, I carried you to the infirmary and you told me that Teach was my friend, like it wasn't my fault."

Ace furrowed his brows. "But it wasn't your fault. Why do you think it is?" he asked simply. Whiskey giggled and left the room. Marco sat down on the doctor's chair next to the bed.

Marco sighed, looking at the floor instead of the sayla, laying injured in a hospital bed. "You don't have to say if you don't want to," Ace was quick to say after seeing Marco's discomfort.

"No, I'll tell you. If I had trusted your judgement, then I might have been there, and you wouldn't be missing a heart. Thatch wouldn't have been almost killed, and you wouldn't have almost died. I feel so guilty for it. I wasn't there when I should have been. Maybe Teach wouldn't have attacked if I was there," Marco explained.

"But, if you were there, Teach probably wouldn't have attacked _then. _If he wanted that fruit so bad, he would have done it regardless of when. He only showed his colors cause Thatch was distracted and he thought I wasn't paying attention and was inconsequential. If you were there, no one would have found out he was bad. And he might have gotten the fruit and hurt more people with it. You're too strong, Teach probably wouldn't have done anything under your watch," Ace explained.

Marco looked at him with sad eyes, but he made a very good point. It still didn't make Marco feel any less guilty. "But what about your injury?" he asked quietly. Ace hummed.

"It's just a heart. I have another one. I wouldn't want Thatch to die. If he had been him, he might have died, but I was lucky that I seem to be able to live with only one heart. It'll be okay, Marco," Ace replied with a reassuring smile.

Marco couldn't help but think Ace might not belong with them. He was so kind and empathetic. They were pirates that took fun in hurting and killing other people. But he in no way wanted Ace to leave. He was still in his blue form, as the nurses were completely used to it by now. So were Marco and Thatch.

"You're too kind, Ace. But don't change that for anyone," Marco said. Ace smiled and his speckled cheeks turned a shade of darker blue.

"Like I said before, I don't do it to be kind. I just act like that." Marco nodded, and smiled down. "Do you have to kill Teach? Is there another type of punishment?" he asked.

Marco frowned. As kind as Ace was, he didn't understand much about the ramifications of betraying a pirate crew. For most crews, the traitor is killed. It's just how things were done. "Do you forgive Teach for what he's done?" Marco didn't know what his answer would be. But he shook his head.

"I guess I forgive him for stabbing me since I made it, but I don't forgive him for wanting to kill Thatch. Can't you exile him or something?" Ace questioned.

"Your kindness and forgiveness is admirable, but Teach will and does need to be killed. Even if we exiled him, a sea king would get him easily. He may never get that devil fruit again, but he tried to kill one of his own. For decades, he acted like a brother. We have all taken it personally. So, the consequences will be as severe as his actions were. You won't be able to convince anyone otherwise. Not on this ship. We value family much too much," Marco responded. Ace frowned.

"Family shouldn't hurt their family members."

"I agree with that. Family is meant to be forever. I will be honest. This has made me quite worried. What if there are other rotten apples on the ship? I like to think my brothers would never do something like that, but Teach was one of the originals, came when I was a teenager. If someone who'd been here that long betrayed, what about everyone else?" Marco confessed quietly. He knew that Ace would never laugh or make fun of Marco ever feeling afraid of something.

"Won't you be miserable if you don't trust any of your family?" Ace asked. Marco nodded. He would be on edge all of the time, and would hurt them by mistrusting them. "You could do a check or something to find if there are anymore bad people."

The captain had been thinking about doing that. It was a smart decision. "Pops has been thinking about doing that, but not yet. After Teach is gone for good would be the best time to do that. Then the reality of what happens and why you betray will be known."

"Wouldn't that just make them want to hide?" Ace wondered. Since humans were dishonest, what made Marco think anyone would confess?

"Hopefully it would deter them from attacking. If there are traitors still on the ship, I doubt they'd come out and admit it," Marco replied. Ace suddenly looked confused, and it had Marco's eyebrows raised in question.

"Should you really be telling me this? Isn't this like, confidential or something?" he asked. And he was right, Marco really shouldn't be sharing these things with anyone who isn't a commander. Ace was just easy to talk to. And smart, too.

Marco shook his head. "I shouldn't be telling you this, you're right. It's just easy to talk to you and get an unbiased opinion on the situation," he said honestly. Ace smiled a soft smile, golden eyes a bit bright, and Marco smiled in response. "Anyways, I should let you get some rest. Thank you for the second opinion. Do you need me to get anything?" the phoenix zoan asked politely.

Ace looked a bit bummed he had to leave already. Though he was having a bit of trouble talking smoothly with the quick breathing. "Some books? Stories, not history books this time, please," Ace said. Marco nodded and said he'd be back with some in a bit. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

-x-

Ace leaned back into the pillows, looking at the boring room. It would be much better to be bedridden at home so he had things to do. Marco was nice, and Ace hadn't seen him smile like that much, usually wearing a blank look or almost bored. Ace wondered what had changed.

The only thing he liked about being in the infirmary was that he was relatively alone and therefore able to be in his normal color. And Marco and Thatch didn't care about the blue either. He heard them say once or twice that they were cute. Ace didn't get upset over it, it wasn't something mean to say. Cute was a good thing to call someone.

Maybe it was just because he was the youngest on the ship, so everyone saw him as younger. He wasn't little anymore, though. He was 20. The freckles really made him look younger, but he couldn't say he hated them. When he looked at his reflection, it looked like his skin was the night sky and the freckles were stars.

It didn't take long for Marco to come back with a bag full of books. He set them down on the bedside table, and took them each out of the bag. Most of them looked old, and Marco soon had a stack of books about a foot tall. "I got all of the commanders' personal favorites. Including mine, but mine is probably one of the more boring ones."

"Even the commanders that don't like me?" Ace asked in surprise. Then he realized why. Because he saved Thatch. Not because of who he was, but what he did. "Oh," he said sadly. "Cause I saved Thatch, right?" Marco nodded.

"Yeah. I guess that was the thing to make most of them believe you were a good person," Marco replied, and Ace could hear the disgust in his voice. He didn't like that it had taken Ace almost dying to be accepted.

Ace sighed. "Don't be mad at your family, you'll regret it later." Marco sighed as well, and straightened the stack of books. "Want me to come visit later?" the first mate asked.

Ace nodded, and said he could come if he wanted to. "But do _you _want me to?" Marco questioned. Ace grinned and nodded. Marco was really nice right now. And Ace was glad he was showing more emotion. It made him easier to talk to. Even if they hung out a lot, though not as much as Thatch, Marco was usually not very expressive with his voice or expressions. Ace liked this Marco more. Maybe it was because of whatever Ace had said when he was dying.

Marco grinned back, and left. Ace heard light giggling from a few of the nurses from across the room. Ace wondered what they were laughing about. He turned to the first book, which was fairy tales. Ace didn't know what that was, and didn't know what to expect. He liked the book much more than any of the others since he came here.

It kept him busy for a good hour before someone walked into the room that Ace didn't particularly want to see. But, he closed the book and set it down next to him. He was still reclining in the bed, after getting a check up a couple of minutes ago. It was Kingdew, the one who had orchestrated the whole "harass Ace until he snaps" incident. Ace felt no desire to talk to this man. Or any of those who had hurt him or thought he was some freaky blue monster.

Neither said anything for a good minute. Kingdew was much bigger than Ace was, and he looked just like an unhappy person. Ace waited for him to say something, since he surely had nothing to say to _him. _All he knew was his first name and that he disliked Ace. Ace tried to forgive him, he did. But it was hard when his actions as a commander had made his entire division hate Ace, not justifiably. Ace didn't tattle that Kingdew was the one to start it. It was not Ace's fault that Kingdew was suspended since it was his own actions that landed him that position.

Finally, the recently unsuspended-commander spoke. "Thank you for saving Thatch," the man said. Ace nodded, silently wondering if he were going to be given a long overdue apology. But, he was disappointed. The commander did not apologize. He thanked Ace and left. It hadn't exactly solved anything. Ace would have done his best to forgive Kingdew and give him another chance if he'd apologized. He hadn't. Either he didn't feel he'd done anything wrong, or his pride was too much for him to apologize when he should.

Ace sighed, and opened the book again, immersed in the tales, wishing he was able to meet a dragon someday. It sounded almost like some of the mammals on his own planet. Huge, but furry. The dragons in these stories were scaley. He wanted to be able to remember everything he'd never see again.

He looked down at the art in the book, and had the desire to draw his memories. He wasn't the best artist, Sabo was, but if it was the only way he could look back at his home, might as well draw it. Ace called for one of the nurses, who came over. He would have rather gone to them and save the inconvenience, but he was ot allowed to leave the bed unless it was to use the bathroom.

"What is it?" Tami asked, holding a clipboard in case it was a medical thing he'd called her over for.

"Do you have paper here? People draw on paper, here, right?" Ace asked. On his planet, most did art on a fake paper surface that translated the art onto a screen. It was less messy and saved a lot of money. Old books were made of paper, and napkins and such were sometimes made of paper. It had been used for a long time, but that was before the planets around each other could communicate and share technology. A long, long time ago.

Tami nodded. "Yes, we write and draw on paper. Do you want to draw something?" she asked. Ace nodded and said please. Tami left and was back in under five minutes with an empty notebook. "It's less of a mess, and all we have are pencils or pens. Nothing to artsy." She handed him a pen, and put a tray in front of him. He thanked her, and before he knew it, he was drawing the scenery of his home. Since he wasn't an artist, it was just a messy sketch. Some probably wouldn't be able to tell what things were, but this wasn't for anyone else to recognize. This was for him to help cement the memories of his planet in case his mind ever ended up forgetting them.

After cities were drawn, Ace moved onto animals. He'd never had a pet before, and you wouldn't find many animals inside the cities, it was more from his time exploring with his brothers when their unit was brought to the forest for some fun. Ace didn't want to think of his childhood while he drew, and just focused on what he'd seen online by not in person. He'd never encountered a sceere, the biggest of all creatures on his planet. It was the only creature that could fly that wasn't in the bird family or an insect.

They only lived on a single island in the middle of the second sea. The island was off limits so they protected its habitat. There were under a hundred left. They were bigger than Ace's whole building had been. As long as the Moby Dick was, it was huge, but quite shy and only kept to their island.

The more he drew, the wider his smile became until he was grinning as he sketched his own planet's ecosystem and animal life, before moving onto the other planets he'd visited. Their own cities, plant life. The planet that was more colorful than anything Ace had ever seen, not just the people, but everything were vibrant colors. He was a bit disappointed in the sketch, since it conveyed none of the bright colors of Zeeneth.

Ace closed the notebook the moment the urge to draw his brothers appeared. Ace couldn't draw people, and he was not going to soil the memory of his brothers in his mind with a terribly drawn and inaccurate portrait. He put the pencil down, and then reopened the book to look through all of the sketches he'd done.

No one but him would be able to tell what the hell the sketches were, but Ace knew what they were trying to convey, and it made him feel a bit happier. He had no photos, but he had memories. He'd make the best of what he could here.

Thatch brought him dinner that night, which was spicy curry, and Ace was glad his stomach was fine after he was stabbed. It was delicious, and Thatch had a glass bottle of milk to help with the spicyness. "Hey, were you writing?" he asked, pointing at the notebook and pencil resting on the table next to the pile of books.

"Drawing. They didn't turn out very good. I was trying to draw stuff from my home planet and some of the other ones. I'm not an artist, but since I don't have any photos all I can do is try to make some sort of record since I'm never gonna get back," Ace explained, eating some of the rice.

"Can I see?" he asked eagerly. Ace nodded and handed him the notebook. He flipped through the pages, and instead of commenting on how bad it was, moved the chair closer to Ace and asked him about each drawing, and Ace explained in depth about what it was supposed to be. Since Ace had only really talked about his life there, how the intelligent creatures lived and their technology, Ace had barely said anything about the planet and ecosystem itself.

Thatch was amazed with the size of the sceere. "How does it eat? If it's so big, what does it eat?" Thatch asked in awe. Ace was amused that just talking about an animal elicited such a reaction from the chef.

"Mostly hunts whale-like creatures that stay near the surface of the ocean," Ace replied.

"Wait, it lives on land and can fly but hunts marine life?" Ace nodded. "Is it scary?"

Ace shrugged. The creatures weren't used to saylas because the island was off limits, but if a sayla did encounter it, the sceere would probably flee. Most of the creatures on Ace's planet were fiercely maternal. Everyone knew to leave baby creatures alone, no matter how small and cute they were. "They don't go after sayla, but we leave them alone as best as we can," Ace replied simply.

"Tell me about the plants," the chef said, and the two spent the next two hours with Ace telling Thatch all of the wonders of his planet, not feeling sad and missing it. Just happy he could remember everything so vividly.

Eventually, the two were joined by Tami, who was going to go to bed but wanted to keep listening to Ace's stories. She fell asleep on the bed next to Ace's having been on her side and listening to Ace's voice. Thatch wished Ace goodnight before picking Tami up to bring her to the nurse's quarters that were attached to the infirmary and next to the bathroom used by them and the patients.

Ace went to bed happy and content, for the first time in what felt like a long time.

-x-

By the next afternoon, most of the crew knew all about Ace's planet. Thatch had a massive mouth and was telling anyone who was around him the stories of Ace's world. To say Marco was jealous was an understatement, as well as Haruta. But, he had to admit that the stories were amazing, at least if Thatch was saying anything not over exaggerated.

To Marco's annoyance, but also gratefulness, the pirates seemed to have finally realized Ace wasn't there to hurt them. Or steal anything of theirs. Ace had only left the infirmary once, in a wheelchair because he just didn't want to be cooped up anymore, but it was for a short trip. Thatch had been the one pushing the wheelchair, since Marco was caught up with paperwork he'd put off after the Teach incident. Much like the rest of the commanders had, but Marco was doing his now instead of later, no matter how much he didn't want to be cooped up in his office.

As much as he didn't want to be anywhere other than with Ace, he didn't want to be anywhere with him. The pirate was confused, and he wanted to sort out his feelings himself. He couldn't get Ace out of his head the night before, thinking of protecting him from the nasty world that would try to taint his kindness and forgiveness.

The more he'd thought about Ace - his nightsky freckles, golden eyes, wavy hair, toned body - the less easy it had become to fall asleep. He finally took a sleeping pill, not wanting to think anymore, and fell asleep quickly.

When he woke up that day, he'd headed to the infirmary to peek his head inside and see Ace sleeping on his back, hair fanned around his face, looking adorable. And it was that thought that had bothered Marco. Ace was young. But he also wasn't human, so did age matter? And would Ace ever even want to be with Marco? What were relationships like on Ace's planet? Would he want a female? Would he hate Marco if he found out about his more than friend adoration? There were too many unknowns. It wasn't that Marco was averse to trying to be with Ace because he wasn't human, he just didn't know what to expect.

He scribbled the paperwork down, completely in his own world, trying his best to not think about Ace and the possibility of ruining everything. What if it made Ace terribly uncomfortable and he was the reason he left the ship? The young sayla still hadn't said whether he was staying for good, and no one had asked since it was pointless until he healed.

There was a knock on the office doorway, and Thatch was there. Marco didn't particularly want to deal with Thatch's teasing right now, but what was he to do? Thatch did what he wanted to annoy anybody he could without risking personal injury.

"What is it, I'm trying to work?" Marco said in a tired voice. Thatch smirked. He handed Marco a drawing. It was a sketch that was actually quite bad, and he didn't recognize the symbols at the bottom like a signature.

"Just figured you'd want your first portrait," Thatch gloated. "I did some sleuthing for you, now, what will you do to repay me?" he asked and wiggled his brows. Marco pressed his lips together, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Give me a hint of what the sleuthing was and then I'll decide," Marco said in a hard voice, knowing Thatch was going to tease him about something involving Ace. Thatch had always been the closest brother to Marco, so he knew all of Marco's tells.

Thatch grinned. "Just about our resident sayla and his solar system's view on love," the chef said in a haughty voice. Marco took the bait immediately. And it was slightly embarrassing, but he wanted to know. At that moment, he realized he'd got it bad for Ace. And he needed to know if there was any chance.

"I'll help you clean the dining room and kitchen every night for two months," Marco said. Thatch put his finger to his chin.

"No, that's not enough from all of the information I got," the chef replied. Marco changed it to giving Thatch more than double the amount of money he could spend on the expensive food he wanted. They had more than enough. "Deal. So, Ace does know what love is, and though he said he's never been in love before, he has had crushes. One was in his upper school, whatever that is, and he was not a sayla, but an exchange student who came from the planet closest to his. They were the same age, but Deuce didn't like him back and had moved away before Ace was brave enough to make a move.

"The beings in his solar system mingle romantically, though they can't reproduce together. And Sayla don't age the same as humans. Ace said he was sure time worked differently on earth, which is why he said we looked different for our ages when he first woke up. So, he might not count as 20 years in earth time. That could be why he acts so much more mature for a 20 year old. So, I think age is not a factor.

"He said he's never been in a relationship and had no idea what to expect, just like you. So, age, species and gender don't matter to him. You're lucky, Marco," Thatch said. "Spend some more time with him alone. He asked why you didn't visit him today, and he sounded a bit sad."

Marco smiled softly, though he felt bad for learning all of this behind Ace's back. But, it was so he wouldn't ruin their friendship. He wouldn't do anything soon, not until Ace got to know him more, and Marco would be as open with him as Ace had been with the others so far. It was only fair. And then, maybe someday, things would progress. And maybe Marco would have someone to be with who wasn't your ordinary, brutal pirate or boring civilian.

There was nothing brutal or boring about any aspect of Ace. Was he too good for Marco? He'd never thought of something like this, not being worthy to be friends or family with someone. He'd just never met anyone who he could possibly not be good enough for. All of his family had dark sides, even if they weren't very prominent. But, Marco wanted to be selfish. He wanted to be friends with Ace, maybe more.

"I think you'd make a cute couple," Thatch said in a teasing but honest voice. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Especially not Ace." Marco nodded, trusting Thatch to keep this important secret. He was a big mouth for things that weren't important, but for personal issues, he was able to zip his lips. "I hope you make him happy. I'll let you finish your paperwork."

"Thanks, Thatch. It means a lot."

"I've never gotten to be your wingman. This is gonna be fun," the chef said excitedly, and then left the room. After Marco was done with his paperwork, he'd go and see Ace. He had a journal he'd never used that was bigger than the notebook. He might want something nicer to draw in. maybe he'd show Marco his drawings. He hoped so.

The phoenix zoan looked at the drawing that was supposed to be him, and pinned it to the wall. He smiled when he looked at it, and he wasn't so grumpy doing the paperwork anymore, thinking about Ace even while he worked efficiently. Thinking of how soft he knew Ace's skin was. Wanting to count the freckles all over his body.

Marco didn't think once over the fact that they might have different body parts in important places. But, that was inconsequential. Marco didn't crave sex like some of his brothers that visited brothels on islands. He was just fine without doing it, he could continue to not. He would not make Ace uncomfortable. The whole two hearts thing proved that, though Ace's body looked human on the outside, it was not the same on the inside.

He finished the paperwork in what felt like record time, and then brought it to Pop's room's door. There were slots for each commander's paperwork, a total of sixteen cubbies that closed and locked. Since many of the reports were confidential, they needed to be locked. Marco did the second divisions' paperwork since they had no commander _still. _It needed to be filled, but they hadn't found the right person.

Before, he had thought Ace would eventually make a good one, being strong and smart and charismatic. But, he was too soft. He didn't think being kind wasn't a good thing, but a commander must be ready to defend their division to their deaths, even if it meant killing others. They would not force Ace to change his ideology to be a commander. That would be wrong to do.

Marco took the journal and fine pencil to the infirmary, where Ace was getting a check up. His bandages were off, and Marco could see the nasty wounds. A long, stitched up cut in the middle of his chest and the stitched up entrance wound of Teach's dagger. He was still in the brig, and was set to be executed tomorrow. He was given no food down there. It had only been a couple days, so he was fine. He got one glass of water a day to keep him barely alive.

Ace had his body in human color to make it easier for the nurses to inspect the wounds and see how they were doing. Tami had a stethoscope on the area where the sayla's remaining heart was. He was taking as deep a breath as he could. Marco stood in the doorway, staying out of the nurses way and not trying to distract them.

He watched as Whiskey gently cleaned the cuts and then rebandaged them. "Is it hurting?" Ace nodded. "On a scale of one to ten, how badly is it hurting right now?" Ace held up seven fingers. Whiskey grew angry. "Why haven't you told anyone you were in pain?" she demanded.

"I didn't want to bother anyone," he said simply. Whiskey put her face in her hand and took a deep breath.

"I am a doctor, it is my duty to know how my patients are feeling and to help them when I can. If you are in pain, you need to tell someone. You're not a bother for needing medical help. You went through an extensive surgery, you need to take care of yourself. I get you some pain medicine."

Since they didn't know how Ace's body would react to any medications meant for humans, he was given all natural medication and drinks to dull the pain and try to keep him from ingesting anything dangerous that was meant only for humans.

Ace looked upset, and Marco walked over, pretending he hadn't seen it. He didn't like that Ace seemed to not think much of his own health. And he was good at hiding the pain. Was he used to doing that back on his home planet? Marco and Thatch had wondered what his life at home was like when he apologized so much for declining anything. He had low self esteem. Marco wanted to help him.

"Hi, Marco," Ace said pleasantly, the sad look disappearing. It had Marco wondering if Ace was faking this smile. He'd like to think not. Even though he didn't outright lie, he did try to make his own problems duller. Tried to hide his feelings and thoughts. Maybe that's why he usually took breaks during the day, it was too hard to hide his feelings the whole day. He might need time to just let himself go.

"Hey, Ace. I brought you something," Marco said, getting straight to the point and pulled out the hardback journal. "I heard you were drawing lately. So I brought you a nicer one. I'm sorry we don't have anything for coloring, but we have more than enough pencils," the commander explained. Ace beamed and opened it, seeing the thick parchment pages.

He thanked Marco sincerely, and then said, "Now I'm worried I'll mess up a page and ruin it," though he didn't sound too upset. Marco smiled, and then asked if he could see some of Ace's drawings. "They're not very good. You probably won't be able to tell what they are."

Marco chuckled. "I've been around little kids with terrible art skills. I bet I'll be able to at least tell what some of the drawings are." Ace smiled, and some pink tinted Marco's cheeks. If Ace noticed, he said nothing of it. The sayla handed Marco the notebook, back to being blue now that his check up was done.

The pirate skimmed through it. The drawings were hard to make out at first, but soon he was seeing strange, unfamiliar creatures. Tall, tall buildings that reached up so high it looked like they could touch the clouds. Scenery from forests, oceans. Then there was the drawing of the sky at night, showing what looked like moons in the sky, many of them. Marco assumed they were planets, but he asked anyway.

"Are these all planets?" he asked, pointing to the circles. Ace shook his head.

"The biggest ones are planets, but the smaller ones are our moons. We have six of them, all circling the planet. Then the planets around us have many moons. It's a crowded solar system, but that made it easier to travel from one place to another, and how the ecosystems are similar enough to live on other planets," Ace explained.

Marco then asked the name of Ace's planet, which no one had heard for some reason. But, Ace had a reason not to say it. "I can't pronounce it correctly in this language. It's a long name, so I'll just call it World 7. Been thinking about doing that for a while, since it's the seventh planet from our sun."

Marco hummed, wishing he could see Ace's world. But, drawings were all he was ever going to see. Much like Thatch had, Marco asked questions about each drawing, but Ace seemed to not have a problem with it. After Marco had been explained about each drawing, Ace asked a question.

"What are people saying about me now? Especially Kingdew's division?" the sayla asked. Marco wondered why Kingdew's specific division, since Ace had said he forgave him, though was upset he'd done it in the first place. So Marco asked why Kingdew specifically.

"He came in yesterday and thanked me for saving Thatch. I thought he might apologize, but he just glared at me and left. It was awkward," Ace explained. Marco sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

But, he told Ace the truth. "His division still dislikes you, but not because they think you're a danger anymore. It's because they're convinced that you are the reason their commander was suspended." Ace frowned, not understanding why they would think that. Marco could see the question on Ace's freckled face. "Some humans feel better pinning the blame on someone else instead of admitting they did something wrong," he explained patiently.

Ace frowned. "Humans are weird," he said simply. Marco chuckled.

They were quiet for a little bit. Marco didn't mean to stare, but he was trying to count Ace's freckles. "Do I have something on my face?" he asked a bit cluelessly. Marco shook his head, embarrassed about being caught, even if he wasn't exactly being stealthy.

"I was trying to count your freckles," he said honestly. Ace was honest with him. Even though admitting it would be embarrassing.

"I have a fifty three on my face. I don't know about the rest of my body. It's hard to count by myself," Ace explained simply. He didn't act weirded out. It made Marco wonder if Ace would ever catch on if he _was _super obvious about it. He'd had a crush before, but that didn't mean he knew when someone else liked him. He had to have been liked back at home. He was good looking and kind, not to mention smart.

But, now the point of counting was useless. Ace spoiled the fun. Marco almost laughed at the childish thought. But, maybe he could someday help count the rest of his body. And not just to see him naked, the thought didn't cross his mind, he just wanted to know how many stars were on his body.

"Do they ever bother you?" Marco wondered. Ace shook his head.

"I like them. I'm the only one in my family who had any, though," he replied. "My brother used to use a permanent marker to connect the dots in my sleep," he said before covering his mouth with his hand, clearly not meaning to mention his brother, who he'd very rarely talked about to anyone. Only brief mentions. Marco did not dwell on it.

"Do most sayla not have freckles?" Ace looked grateful that Marco did not comment on the mention of his brother.

Ace shook his head. "Others have other markings. Some have spots, or stripes or things that look like scales. Mine are rare because they're so tiny and different sizes." Marco asked if he was ever teased about it. "Why would I be teased? Everyone has marks," he asked in slight confusion. Marco replied that it must be a human thing.

It made the man wonder. If everyone seemed to be kind and not cruel on Ace's world, why was he like this? Letting people walk all over him, being insecure, keeping his true feelings hidden. What had happened? Or was it just the norm to not share feelings with others? Even after being with Ace for weeks, Marco still felt he knew little about him, and wanted to know more.

"Hey, what kind of life did you want to have back at your home? Do sayla's have jobs? Work, I mean?" Marco asked curiously, leaning forward a bit more. Ace nodded, and looked a bit shy.

Marco wondered what his answer would be if he was shy. "I wanted to be two things, hadn't decided yet. An explorer that documented other planets and places no one had been to before. The other was… a singer," he said and his face turned dark blue. Marco didn't laugh, but was surprised. He never thought Ace liked to sing, hadn't even heard him humming on the ship.

"Are you good at it?" Marco asked. Ace shrugged, and then winced when it irritated his stab wound.

"My friends said I was, but they're friends. They have to say that," he replied simply. Marco didn't ask him to sing, knowing it would make him uncomfortable and then he'd apologize for saying no.

Marco smiled. "Can you play any instruments?" He assumed they wouldn't be instruments from earth. It would be too much of a coincidence. They'd have to be different.

"I could, but they're probably not earth instruments. But I'm a fast learner, I could probably learn some time. Learning new things is exciting. My friends thought school was boring, but we got to learn new things, so I liked it," Ace said. Marco asked what a school was. "It's a place children and teens go to learn about the world and basic things to live once they leave school. It's like a long preparation process to live as an adult. I was surprised this planet doesn't have any."

Marco said that parents usually taught their children basic things like math and reading and writing. They learn everything else themselves. They talked a bit more before Ace passed out. Marco freaked out for a second before remembering Ace's condition. He hadn't seen him pass out in a while, but he'd been in a bed a while. Before that, he hadn't been passing out around other people, but he did hide a lot, so maybe he did during that time.

Marco put the sheets over him more so he didn't get cold. He gently touched Ace's face, thumb over his freckles. All fifty three big and little ones. Luckily, no one was there to see this, and Ace was dead to the world at the moment.

He didn't want to leave and have Ace wake up alone when he was just talking to Marco. So the man waited patiently until Ace awoke about ten minutes after passing out. He blinked tiredly, before saying, "Sorry. I fell asleep." He looked embarrassed, but Marco said it was fine.

"Ace? Do you think you'll stay? After your injury heals? I mean, join the family?" Marco asked, having no idea what Ace's answer would be. The sayla looked down at his chest, even if it was covered by a sheet.

"I don't know yet. I don't like that some of the humans here only accept me because of what I did, and not who I am. I really don't feel like I'd be a part of your family. I don't know what I'll do yet. I might join your crew, but not your family," Ace answered honestly. Marco felt like he'd been slapped across the face. Ace might join but decide he didn't want them as family?

"What about me and Thatch?" he asked quietly.

"Good friends. I've already had brothers, I don't want replacements."

Marco was not going to push him on this and make him uncomfortable. He tried to reword it that Ace would stay even if he wasn't called a brother. Marco knew many had this feeling. That the Whitebeards were a replacement family for their old one. That wasn't how it was, but he could see how people felt that. And they hadn't exactly given Ace a warm welcome that would make him _want _to be a part of the family. They shunned and harassed him for things he could not control.

They tried to get him to leave over and over, made him feel unwelcome, _hurt _him physically, almost caused his death. And it didn't matter if he was accepted now if it was only because of something he did. Marco could imagine it hurt to only have someone like you because you did something they liked. Maybe they finally realized Ace was a good guy, but it might be much too late.

Marco was sad, but didn't let it show. Thankfully, Ace didn't apologize. "I really like you and Thatch and Nick and Haruta. You're good friends, just not brothers. And I don't need a father to make me feel happy. I don't need parents, or really want one to be honest," he added. Every time he called Marco a friend it made him feel bad. But he didn't let that show.

"I understand. Many of us rejected Pops and his idea of a family at first. You're welcome to become part of our crew, but not take on the role as a brother and son. Friends are just fine." _But a family is better. _Marco didn't say it, but it was what he was thinking. "I'm sorry that we didn't make you feel wanted enough to join happily. Maybe someday you will, but no one can force you. Thatch may whine about it, but don't let him walk all over you," Marco said. Maybe it would be better to not call Ace a brother when Marco had a crush on him.

"Thank you for being understanding. I know that being in a family is important to all of you. Just not for me," Ace replied. Marco nodded. He wanted to know why Ace didn't want a parent. But he must have had some before and it didn't turn out good if he rejected ever having a parent figure again. Marco wanted to ask, but didn't.

"So Pops would just be captain, and you'd be a subordinate?" Whitebeard would not like that, but Marco hoped he'd respect Ace's decision. He had trouble not addressing Ace as son _now. _What would it be like if Ace was part of the crew?

Thatch would be so disappointed. But, all Marco could ask for was for Ace to stay, whether he became part of the family or not. They talked a little longer before Thatch came in with Ace's dinner.

"What's fire-chicken doing here? Are you having a party without me?" he asked with a pout.

"No, we were just talking about stuff," Ace replied. Thatch sat the tray of food down on the huge bed next to Ace. After all, some of their crew were quite large. They had to have beds to fit them. So, Ace was dwarfed on it. He was one of the smallest of the crew, being the youngest as well. Well, on earth's time table, Ace was the youngest.

Marco glared at Thatch over the bird pun. Ace ate the meal happily, and after dinner had another check up. After that, Marco left to go on watch, since it was his turn. Thatch cleaned up the kitchen but joined him later.

"Soooo~ how was your conversation with Ace?" Thatch asked in a singsong voice in the crowsnest.

Marco smiled sadly. Thatch wondered why. "Both enlightening and disappointing. Ace has no intention of becoming our brother." Thatch looked horrified, but Marco put his hand up. "He said he might join the crew, but would not consider us his family. Only good friends. He said he already had brothers and he didn't want replacements. He also said he has no desire for any parent figure. We messed up, Thatch. But can you really blame him? After all the shit our crew has pulled?"

"But…" Thatch mumbled.

"We have made him feel unwelcome, tried to chase him off, harassed him, harmed him physically, walked all over him, and one of us almost murdered him. Who would want to be family members with people like that?" Marco grumbled angrily, though not at Ace. At his brothers.

Thatch looked very upset. "But he said he forgave everyone," he said. "Everyone deserves a second chance!" he insisted in Ace's own words.

Marco sighed, looking up at the stars and being reminded of Ace's constellations on his face. "There are some things you can't forget. It also hurt him that now people only welcome him because he protected you. Not because of who he is. I think it might be too late for him to consider us family. I'm sorry, I know you think of him as a younger brother. Friend will just have to do. I know Pops won't like it, but Ace won't be his son. He'll be a subordinate."

Thatch looked very sad, disappointed. "Stupid Kingdew…" he grumbled. "He ruined everything."

Marco frowned. Though Kingdew definitely played a role in making Ace feel unwelcome, it wasn't only him that disapproved of Ace's presence. Who would find people who thought he was disgusting as nice family members? It would be one sided if Ace ever called some of the pirates "brothers".

They had blown it big time, and Thatch and Marco could feel nothing but regret, and not blame Ace or think it was too much to shun them as family now. After everything that happened, Ace still cared for his friends on this ship, still tried to be social. But there was always an undertone of nervousness.

Based on what kind of world Ace described he was from, this behavior towards them was unknown. And probably scary, too. To be thrown into a world, alone, and into a species so unlike his own. So rude and selfish and greedy. Ace had no idea the kind of place he was in and when he found out, it had been a shock. Poor Ace.

"We should just accept this, Thatch. We won't be changing his opinion of the others. He likes us, trusts us, that should be enough. Maybe someday he'll change his mind, but don't wait for it to come, because it might never."

Thatch glared at him, not liking the wording, no matter the truth that he was saying. "Thatch, please don't mess it up more by trying to convince him that the crew are good people. He's seen the bad side of them only, and to have you toting how wonderful they are would probably upset him and drive him away further. We don't want him to leave, or want to leave. Just… think about what you're going to say before you say it on the topic of him joining. Give him time," Marco said simply. Thatch nodded, agreeing to not push Ace on this. He had the right to hate them, and Thatch would do everything he could to not be one of the hated.


	8. Execution

Ace was sure he upset Marco with his honesty. He laid in bed, the lights off, and reflected on their conversation. It had been going so well and then Marco brought up joining the crew. Despite being someone who forgave easily, what this crew had done could not be simply erased. He didn't hate all of them, but he couldn't bring himself to ever call them family. Family was supposed to love each other unconditionally. Like Luffy and Sabo loved him and he loved them.

This crew… it didn't seem like a family Ace had ever come across. There were fights, arguments, dislikes of one another, and to top it off, one of their members was trying to kill them. If humans could turn that easily against those they "loved", then Ace could never fully trust that any of these people besides a handful would accept him. Would even be fine with him living as himself, not a pink, wannabe human. Ace had no desire to be a human. It would be a great insult to him to be called a human.

Ace was kind, did his best to not hold grudges, not to lie, not to be mean or dishonest, to always be the bigger person. Many of the humans, that he had seen, did not posess any of those qualities. Being in the infirmary had been both nice and terrible. Terrible because it was boring, but nice because he was able to be himself, and hadn't come across any nasty looks or muttered disapprovals at his passing by.

He wanted to go home so badly. But, he couldn't. And he was trying his very best to deal with this planet without growing bitter like the humans. Hearing more and more about how evil they could be. How greedy and cruel, blood thirsty, tactless, judgemental, made him dislike them more and more.

Then there was Marco and Thatch. Ace almost didn't consider them humans. They were different from everyone else. Haruta, too. He was nice as well, but Ace hadn't grown attached to him like Thatch and Marco. The only reason he considered staying other than safety was for Thatch and Marco.

The latter one had been confusing Ace lately. Marco stared at him a lot, and not in a mean way like much of his "family" did. Then he had held Ace's hand despite saying previously that same sex couples were shunned sometimes. He complimented Ace's freckles. Was just so nice and seemed to be trying to be as honest with Ace as he was with him.

Then there was the out of the blue romance talk he had had with the chef. It made him wonder why, why now? They'd never talked about that kind of thing before. And it didn't sound like Thatch was particularly invested in the conversation, but continued to ask questions. It made Ace wary.

Ace held his good hand up in the air, looking at the white specks on his knuckle, and sighed. He put his hand down and felt the area where his heart used to beat. He had one left. Lose that one, and he was dead for good. Ace would always be grateful for the nurses and surgeon doing their best to treat him, even with their old fashioned medical equipment, but it was their sibling that stabbed Ace.

He knew that Teach had not stabbed him on purpose, had gone after Thatch and Ace was just there to take the blow for his friend, but it still didn't feel right. To be on a crew with his family. Ace tried _so hard _to trust and forgive and try to forget. But he was having so much trouble with it, and it worried him. Maybe the humans were rubbing off on him. It made him feel like he needed to scrub his body of it.

Hating these people for being human was different than them hating him for being a sayla. Ace had done nothing to warrant the hate. They had. Had been cruel to him, hurt him, harassed him, shunned him. It hurt, to be thrust into a world that hated him from the start.

_But Thatch and Marco… _his mind kept saying. Reminding him that there were kind humans here. Whitebeard seemed kind, though he didn't often approach Ace. Maybe he thought Ace wanted space, but he couldn't see the captain being a father figure at all. And Ace did not want a huge family with one parent. He'd had that before, and it had not been pleasant. Someone was always neglected, and that had been him. He didn't want the same thing to happen here. It had hurt too much the first time, he didn't need a repeat. Did not want one.

Perhaps if he told Marco and Thatch that, they would understand him more. But he did not want to make them see what a mess he was. He didn't want them to see the parts of himself that he hated. That he had tried to get rid of. But the lasting impression of his late childhood would not leave him.

The feeling of losing everything, his beloved brothers, and then being tossed into a unit with a dozen children and one parent. To be the one who was neglected had hurt him badly. He knew Dadan had not meant to be cruel, but Ace had often been forgotten about. She was impatient with him sometimes whenever he said no about something. He had felt isolated. He didn't turn bitter after that experience, thankfully. He still was kind and honest and understanding, but he just couldn't get rid of the feelings of being unwanted and worthless. Especially now that he was feeling such things again. He had had friends he'd lived with that chased away the absence of self-worth, and now they were billions of lightyears away.

While Ace had forgiven Dadan, as he knew she had not meant to neglect him, even if she did on accident, these pirates were aware of their impressions of Ace. He closed his eyes, trying to sleep, though he just couldn't. Not when the feeling that had haunted his sleep years ago started to return, making nighttime uncomfortable and depressing. And he couldn't even go off the ship for alone time anymore.

He turned his head, taking deep breaths to try and sleep. It was even harder now since he had to breathe quicker to match his heartbeat. He still wasn't used to it yet, and it was distracting.

_No one loves you._

No, go away.

_They want you gone. _

Stop it.

_You're nothing, worthless._

Please, let me sleep.

He did not.

For most of the next day, Ace tried to sleep. He was exhausted, and had gotten barely any sleep the previous night. People came in to see how he was doing, but he had bags under his eyes and could not escape from the thoughts. The memories of being left behind. The loneliness of self-isolation.

The thing he hated about being here was that he thought of Luffy and Sabo constantly. He didn't want to think about them because it made him sad, and he didn't want to be sad here. At least, not more than he already was.

Unfortunately, someone had been in the room with him when he broke down. Fossa, someone Ace knew didn't like him, had come in to tell Thatch that the sink had been repaired in the kitchen and gave Ace this disapproving look. He left before he could see the tears going down Ace's cheeks as he silently looked at his lap. Thatch hadn't noticed until a small sniffle was made.

"Oh, Ace," Thatch said sadly, and walked back to the bed and hugged him, making sure to be careful with his wounds. Ace didn't hug him back for once, and insteads used his hands to wipe the tears away.

"I'm fine. Sorry," Ace said automatically. Thatch sighed, and put his hand on Ace's head softly. He turned his face up, and Thatch looked totally serious, something he rarely looked around Ace.

"Don't apologize for being hurt when people shun you," he said simply.

"I should be used to it by now," Ace replied, and brought his knees up closer to his bandaged chest.

"It's only been a couple weeks, of course you're not used to it," Thatch replied. Ace frowned deeper. He had been dealing with self-worth problems for much longer than a couple weeks. Which made it even more stupid that he wasn't used to it by now. Ace didn't correct him. He wanted to keep being strong, so he hid his past problems from Thatch, continued to do so throughout the rest of the day.

Thatch came in multiple times, but Ace barely spoke at all, barely made eye contact. He didn't want to look at anyone, trying to put himself back together alone. He didn't want to keep thinking about wanting to go home. He didn't want to dwell on his hatred of this world, or how isolated and alone he was. He was the only of his kind on this planet. He was utterly and absolutely alone.

Ace's drawings reflected his emotions, and the pages of his notebook were not only drawing of his world. Lots of black things, monsters, that would never fit in his world. Ace ripped the pages out and crumpled them up. Soon his bed had a lot of little paper balls.

Looking at the mess, he sighed. He was allowed to move around a bit now, so walking to the garbage can shouldn't be too bad. He stood up and walked over, wearing pyjama shorts and button up shirt that didn't match but was easy when doing check ups on the stitches wounds.

He was dismayed when he was panting when back at the bed. He hadn't even walked that fast, and he was winded. He sat on the edge of the bed, trying to catch his breath. He put his hand over his missing heart, and closed his eyes. He looked down at the wooden floor, and saw his bare feet. Ace wanted to go home, and he wanted to stop thinking that. He couldn't go home, he needed to accept it.

Accepting his forever isolation would be much easier if he'd ended up on a nice planet. Instead of here, where the first place he went was undesirable. But he was scared to leave, too. What if out there was worse than it was here? He needed out of this room. The nurses were out for now, expecting Ace to stay inside. He didn't know what time it was, but he stood up and buttoned the shirt up all the way, changing back into human colors, which he scowled at, and left the room slowly.

He passed everyone while looking at the floor with a blank look. A resigned expression, knowing he was getting glares and stares even if he couldn't see it. He wasn't expecting for someone he didn't know to grab his shoulder. Of course, he didn't fight back. It wasn't how he did things, so he stopped and looked at the pirate with blank eyes. Ace recognized him as one of the original harassers, maybe the one responsible for making him tear up his back.

"Do you need something?" he asked in a very tired voice.

"I just… can I talk to you in private?" the man asked nervously. Ace didn't know what his name was, and looked down the hall, wishing to be outside, but he nodded, not wanting to be rude even if this man had helped make him miserable.

They entered a storage room, and Ace stood at the door while the man sat down on a crate. "I just want to say I'm really sorry. I know it doesn't make anything better, doesn't make what I did not wrong, or erase it. I'm just sorry, that I made things harder for you, made you feel unwelcome and unwanted. It was a terrible thing to do," he confessed. "I was a bad person, and I can't take anything I did back, but I just want you to know I regret it. And a lot of those who initially disliked you now feel guilty, too."

Ace had a straight face on, not really knowing what he was supposed to be feeling. He didn't like this man, but he had already decided to forgive him, even if he couldn't erase the pain his actions had caused. Forgiveness did not equal forgetting what happened. "Why?"

"You probably know this by now, but humans aren't the most friendly species. Plus, the members here who have been here longer know that strangers aren't welcome on the ship unless Pops wants them here. Once, someone was injured off of the ship, and Pops took him on to help, thinking he'd be a good son. He wasn't, he stole a lot from the ship and kidnapped one of the nurses.

"So, we don't really trust strangers. So, when Thatch brought you on board, we were amazed, but also wary of you, a newcomer, outsider. It only got worse when it was decided you'd stay with us for a little bit. I can't speak for every other person, but the majority of us assholes feel regret and shame at how we treated you."

"No one else has talked to me about this," Ace said in a monotone voice. Marco and Thatch hadn't said any of that, surely if it was the truth, they would have.

The man said, "Commanders Thatch and Marco can sense when good people are near. They were never afraid of you. And the rest of us should have trusted their and Pops' judgement. We didn't, and that was wrong. Nothing I say can make up for what we've done to you, but I just hope you know we do regret it. It took us too long to realize you were not a threat, and would not hurt anyone."

Ace didn't say anything for a moment, or look at the man. "I forgive you. And you're right, it doesn't change much. I will forgive, but not forget," the sayla replied, and left the room, walking back outside. He didn't see or hear the reaction of the man whose name he didn't know. Ace was in a bad mood, and when he got out on deck, he looked up at the crowsnest, wanting to climb up but not going to set himself back by injuring himself. Besides, he probably couldn't handle the exertion of climbing the ratlines. He wouldn't make it up halfway with how he was now.

"Ace! What are you doing out of the infirmary?" Marco demanded when he saw Ace sitting by the railing.

"I needed to go outside," he replied simply. Marco must have noticed the change in Ace's demeanor, the sadness and misery, since the anger left his eyes. He took Ace's hand and led him to the back deck, stairs being hard for him to handle.

They sat at the back of the ship, Ace sitting on the deck and Marco sitting on the railing. "Some guy apologized to me about the harassment," Ace said, breaking the silence. "I feel bad."

"Why?" Marco asked quietly, calmly. Ace sighed. He felt bad for this, how he was feeling.

Ace looked up at the cloudy sky, some light clouds blocking out the sun and making everything look dull. "I can't forget what everyone has done. I'm a bad person, I should be able to move on and forgive them all. They just… pushed a lot of the wrong buttons much too hard and much too often." Marco sat down on the deck next to Ace.

"Did they remind you of something bad?" Ace nodded. Marco frowned and took Ace's hand in a comforting motion. Ace was grateful for the physical contact, and held Marco's hand back. Marco entwined his fingers with Ace's. "Do you want to talk about it?" the commander asked quietly.

Ace didn't really, but maybe talking would help him. It wasn't getting any better when it was him bottling everything up like he usually did. "After my brothers passed, I got sent to another family unit since I had no one else. There were already a lot of kids there, so Dadan was spread real thin. I was the one everyone forgot about. When I did something, it was always wrong and I knew they wanted me to leave. No one said it, but their looks made it clear that I was the odd one out. Nothing I ever did was good enough to garner any positive attention. Things got better eventually, but I still have self-worth issues and being here has not helped at all."

Marco was quiet, before he put his arm around Ace's shoulders and let Ace lean his head against Marco. "I want to go home. And I can't and I don't know what to do. I can barely even walk now without becoming embarrassingly winded. I don't regret saving Thatch, but it would have been avoided if I had just disarmed him or something. Now I'm useless. I can't do anything that I could do before and be fine with," Ace finished, and then was silent. Marco had said nothing, and Ace felt like he was going to be shunned. But then Marco spoke.

"Maybe you landing here was to give you a second chance at a life that had dried you out. Were you really happy before coming here? Was your life perfect?" Marco asked gently. No one had come over and Ace was glad no one but a friend had heard his story. It embarrassed him that something like that still bothered him.

Marco's question was a heavy one. Was he happy before messing with the warp system? He was bored. He had friends and a nice place to live. Was he happy? He _should _have been happy. He had good friends and a comfortable place to live, things to do. But no matter what he did, who he hung out with, he felt empty inside. Alone even surrounded by people. He thought he was happy, but maybe he was fooling himself.

However, this place was no better, not by a long shot. Marco was probably going to say he could start over here, but it had been horrible so far. It was worse here than at home, it was not starting over someplace new like some thought was a good thing.

Ace was sent some place worse than before. "I was happier there than I am here," he said honestly. Marco didn't say anything, just rubbed circles on Ace's far shoulder. "I didn't mess with the warp system to find someplace new to live, I was bored and Zoro's dad gave us access to it."

"Didn't you say you wanted to be an explorer when you got older? Here you are, the first of your kind to land on this planet. Isn't that exploring? And being a pirate here is the only job that involves traveling to new places. Not everyone on this crew is a fighter, not everyone needs to be," Marco explained.

"This wasn't the planet I wanted to explore," Ace mumbled. But Marco had a point. Maybe things would have been different if he was welcomed from the get go, but he hadn't been. Marco nodded.

"But it will sure be an adventure, right? You said it yourself: you can't go home. It's wrong to tell you to forget and move on from your old life. But maybe you were sent here for a reason? I know it sounds stupid, but maybe being here is a purpose. It might not be with us, but for now, while you get back on your feet, let us help. Things are different now. You haven't been around anyone after what happened with Teach."

Ace frowned, and then looked at his hand. His pink hand. "If people accept you, they need to accept _all _of you. Make them get used to you as you are. Try not to dwell on sad times. Look to the future, it may just be something bright and happy that you won't see if you're bogged down by the sorrows of your past experiences." He moved a lock of hair out of Ace's face. "Now, I'm going to have to sneak you back into the infirmary before Whiskey notices."

Ace and Marco stood, still holding hands. "Go on, don't let others make you someone you're not," the commander said kindly. Ace's light skin turned blue, and his dark freckles turned white. Marco kept holding his hand as they walked slowly back to the infirmary. Too slowly for Ace, but he didn't want to get winded by going too fast. Even if he stayed here, he would never be a fighter, and not just because he didn't like hurting people. His body wouldn't be able to handle the intensity of it. His sparring days were over.

Ace kept his head down until Marco's big hand lifted his chin. Ace looked around, and saw many staring at him but not glaring. A couple smiled at him, and it threw Ace off. He was startled and surprised. He could understand the staring since Ace didn't go around in his natural colors, but he expected everyone to be glaring at him even more in this form.

"Where. Have. You. _Been?" _Whiskey demanded the moment Ace entered the room. She was very angry.

"Ace needed a break from the stuffy infirmary. He didn't do anything taxing, so don't worry," Marco explained. Ace was not happy about upsetting Whiskey, but he had needed a break. He was going to go crazy if he were trapped in there any longer without a break. He walked slowly to the bed and sat down on it.

"Well, now I have to give you a check up," Whiskey said slightly irritably. Ace nodded and did everything she asked him to, cooperated perfectly, and stayed in bed when he was ordered to. At least for the rest of that day. Marco came and sat next to him.

Ace looked down and said, "Thanks for the talk. And people not glaring at me." He mumbled the words a bit, and Marco grinned, Ace looking up to see it. He responded that he wanted Ace to be happy. "I'll do the best I can to make you happy here."

The sayla hadn't seen the humans but a couple since the Teach incident. Had Thatch told Marco about his crying the other day? Marco hadn't said anything about it, but that didn't mean Thatch didn't say anything. Marco took Ace's hand, like he didn't notice he was doing it. He looked at Ace's blue hands, and the sayla didn't want to shock him out of his stupor or embarrass him, so he said and did nothing about Marco's hand holding his.

Ace passed out, head landing on the pillow with a soft thump, and startled Marco into letting Ace's hand go, though slowly so he didn't risk waking Ace up.

-x-

The next day, while Ace didn't know it was happening, the execution of Teach had arrived. All of the commanders were there, as was the captain. Marco and Thatch were the most furious at seeing him than the others, since they were much more attached to Ace than anyone else. Teach swore profanities the whole time, insulting everyone as his last words.

There was a small wooden raft that would not be missed that he was tossed onto and into the water. "You are sentenced to death be sea king for your crimes against this crew," Whitebeard said simply, looking calm other than his eyes, that held such contempt at the traitor. "For attempting to stab Thatch, injuring Ace, and plotting against us all this time."

Jozu tossed a chunk of bloody meat as bait for any sea kings in the area. Teach scowled at them in fury, and didn't even scream when a huge shadow swam under him. A few of the commanders looked away involuntarily when it surfaced, and ate Teach, raft and all. There wasn't even any blood left by the time the sea king left.

Marco couldn't help but be disappointed at how fast it had happened. It was anticlimactic. Not that he was wanting a show, but it happened so quickly, without Teach being in too much pain. Though the Whitebeards weren't a crew that tortured enemies.

The commanders dispersed, all in a bad mood. At least that part of the issue was over. All they needed was Ace to heal and then they could put the incident behind them. Hopefully.


	9. Crew, Not Family

**I finished another story! One like I've never done before. It is ASL on Doflamingo's ship with LawLu in it. Lots of action and drama and fluff. And jaded characters, but for good reasons. 90,000 words, so it'll take awhile to edit, the worst part of it all. -_-**

**Anyways, enjoy~**

* * *

Three days later, Ace was allowed to leave the infirmary as long as someone was around him at all times to make sure nothing happened. Not someone to follow him around, but to be somewhere where at least one person would notice him acting strange. Ace was a slow walker now, and Thatch, Nick, Haruta or Marco never got irate with his slowness, even though Ace hated it with a passion. He was usually a patient person, but not with this. He did his best to try and forget the anger since he could do nothing about this and would have to be used to it. But it was hard.

Ace was looking how he normally did, and he scanned those around him for looks of disgust, but saw few. Yes, there was a whole division that disliked him, but the commander was off suspension. Hopefully they'd soon stop blaming Ace for something he didn't do.

People around him smiled at him, even though some stared. Ace had gotten used to the staring long ago, but was still bothered by the glares, which were exponentially less than they were before Teach stabbed him. When he went to lunch the first day out of the infirmary, he sat at his usual table, where the people who sat around him were glad to have him back. No one said a thing about the color of his skin or eyes. Ace was expecting them to.

Thatch sat down next to Ace happily and gave him all of his favorites, all piled onto one big plate. The sayla gladly ate all of it, stuffing himself to almost an uncomfortable fullness. Malek, the guy who always sat next to Nick but was a relatively quiet guy, made some jokes that Ace didn't understand, something having to do with humans.

References were often made that Ace didn't understand, but that was just part of what happens when you travel to an unknown planet. Ace didn't mind it much, didn't take it personally or feel stupid for not understanding human jokes. It was what it was and was completely normal.

After lunch, Ace helped Thatch clean up the galley, wanting to be useful and do something that wasn't too hard on his single heart. He wiped down the tables and helped dry all of the dishes. Thatch suddenly asked, "Hey, Ace? What do you think of Marco?" Ace was surprised by the question.

"He's really nice," Ace replied, not sure where this was going. Thatch already knew Ace liked Marco, since they hung out together a lot. Ace thought he had made it clear he cared about Marco. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," Thatch said suspiciously. Ace frowned, not understanding why Thatch was acting like this. But he didn't question him, not wanting to seem nosy or rude. "Hey, Ace? Do Sayla's kiss?"

"Yeah. Why?" Thatch replied with "Just wondering" again, and Ace frowned. He was acting weird, asking weird questions. Why was he pairing Marco and kissing? There had to be a reason that both of those were in the same train of thought. What do they have in common? Marco and kissing. What was the connection?

"Would you ever be with a human?" Thatch said, sending Ace out of his thought bubble, trying to come up with why both would go together.

Ace finished washing his hands after putting the rag in the dirty cloth basket. "Depends on the human, I guess," he answered honestly. He didn't like them as a whole, but there were nice ones on this ship. "Why are you asking?" Ace questioned again. Thatch shrugged, and dropped the questions.

After dinner that night, Marco walked Ace to his guest bedroom slowly, being very patient with his pace. Some people said goodnight to them, and Ace felt a bit happy for the first time in weeks. Marco turned the light on in the room and Ace went to the closet and got some pyjamas out.

"Goodnight, Ace. See you tomorrow," Marco said with a smile.

"Night," Ace said, and closed the door, going to change and then straight to bed. He turned the lamp off and drifted to sleep on the comfortable bed, glad to be away from the white sheets and harsh lights of the infirmary. He wasn't allowed to sleep on his stomach yet, but he was fine as long as he got to sleep on one side. He went to sleep content.

_Ace was sitting on the swing at the park his unit would visit. He was little, a child, as he swung back and forth on the stable swing. His unit members, not family, were all playing a game, and Ace was forgotten. _

_The child sayla sat on the stable swing and watched them play, feeling alone and resigned. He deserved to be alone. To be sad and isolated. He couldn't find his brothers treatment in time. It didn't matter that there had been no treatment at the time, as the one who survived, Ace would harbor the survivors guilt while his brothers were gone. _

_A single tear slid down his speckled cheek. Suddenly, there was someone near him, and he looked up. It was not a sayla, someone he didn't recognize. "Are you lonely, Ace?" the man asked. Ace nodded. "You can come join me and my family if you want. We'll play with you." He had a nice smile, and Ace looked behind him to see a couple vaguely familiar faces with a whole lot of blank ones. In the dream, it wasn't strange that many had blank faces. _

"_I don't know you," Ace replied warily. He wasn't going to trust strangers he didn't know. _

"_Sure you do. I'm Marco, remember?" Ace recognized the name, but didn't feel he knew this Marco very well. "Give us a chance."_

"_No. I don't know you," Ace insisted. Marco crouched in front of him on the sand of the play area. "You do know us. If you want to stay here, no one will force you. But you're welcome to come and play with us. We'll be over there," Marco said patiently, and pointed to a big play ship with a large creature that looked like a fouzen from their ocean. Must be from another planet. Just like this man seemed to be. He wasn't a sayla._

_Marco got up and walked back to his group. Ace sat on the swing for a while, before he got up to follow his unit. "There's not enough room for you, Ace," one of the faceless children said, though not in a cruel voice. _

"_O-okay," Ace replied sadly, and went back to the swings. He looked over his shoulder at Marco and his group, and saw a small empty spot between them as they all sat and joked around. A small spot just perfect for Ace to occupy. _

_He slowly walked over, and looked at everyone. Someone - Thatch - got up and cheered that Ace had come over. Suddenly, food was everywhere, unknown food that smelled really good. Ace sat down in the little spot he knew was just for him, and reached for the closest edible thing before eating it slowly. He couldn't make out the faces of most of the people around him. Only Marco, Thatch and Izo, who dressed very distinctly. Marco grinned at Ace, and suddenly he wasn't shorter than they all were. Smaller than some of the bigger ones, but he wasn't a little kid anymore. _

_Ace had a piece of chicken in his mouth when Marco leaned down and kissed his forehead. Ace swallowed the chicken whole and his face turned a deeper blue. _

"_AWWWW!" Thatch shouted, and Marco just smiled. Ace was embarrassed, but not upset at Marco for doing it. Ace knew he didn't do it to make him uncomfortable. But… why did he do it?_

Ace woke up to a knock on his door. He yawned and sat up, the dreams having faded a bit, until he saw Marco standing there. His dream came back to him, and Ace's cheeks darkened. Should he ask Marco what was bothering him? Ace was used to being very honest and open with others, but he didn't know if being so upfront was okay with humans.

"Hey, Ace - what's wrong?" Marco asked, seeing Ace's unsure face.

"Can I talk to you, in here?" Ace asked, and Marco frowned, but nodded and walked inside. Ace flipped the switch on and closed the door behind them. He was worried to offend Marco, but he wouldn't be able to act normal with having such questions. And he didn't want to fake anything, be insincere or dishonest.

"What's up?" Marco asked, trying to have a light voice, though Ace heard the discomfort.

"Why do you hold my hand?" Ace asked bluntly, though not in a mean or uncomfortable way. Marco didn't say anything, and he looked incredibly uncomfortable. "And you're nicer to me than anyone else, even Thatch. And you want me to be me and not look human. Why?" Ace insisted.

Marco pinched the bridge of his nose, and Ace felt he had done something bad. He was about to apologize when Marco wore a determined look on his face. "Because I like you, Ace. A lot." His cheeks were red, but he looked very serious, and Ace was thankful for his honesty.

"But… why?" Ace asked in a small voice, not understanding it. "Is that why Thatch keeps asking me weird things?"

"You're like no one else I've ever met, and not just because you come from a different planet. You're honest, and kind and caring about other people, even people you don't know or care for personally. You're never mean to anyone, forgive easily and are a bright and beautiful person. And that isn't including how attractive you are. I'm so sorry if I just ruined everything, but you're honest with me and so I want to be honest with you. And I've never asked Thatch to ask you weird things." Ace was speechless, his face a darker blue than the rest of him.

"I know humans are terrible compared to sayla, and I understand if you don't want anything to happen because of what my kind does, and what I've done before. I… I think I love you, okay?" Marco said awkwardly. Ace didn't know what to say. He didn't love Marco back. Marco was a wonderful person, and had helped him like Thatch had, had comforted him physically and emotionally. Ace couldn't fake his feelings, though, and he wouldn't.

His silence seemed to be crushing Marco, who was biting his lip. "You want… to be with me?" Ace asked in a surprised voice, finally saying something.

"Only if you will have me," Marco replied with a serious voice, making direct eye contact.

"But, I don't love you back," Ace said. Marco winced.

"Maybe someday you could," the mythical zoan said quietly. Ace looked down at his feet. "I don't want to force you to be with me, _never. _Would you ever be willing to try?" he asked shyly, voice small and uncertain.

"But I'm not human," Ace pointed out.

"And I'm not a sayla. Doesn't mean I don't care about you deeply," Marco said softly.

Why would he want Ace? There were so many problems with Ace. Then he thought of the other day when Ace opened up to him and Marco tried to help him move on. Then he was in the dream, and although that didn't exactly happen in real life, Ace knew Marco would do something like that. They stared at each other for a good minute, Marco looking more uneasy by the second, while Ace didn't know what to think.

Finally, he settled with, "You'll regret it." It clearly wasn't what Marco was expecting him to say.

"Why?" he asked quietly.

"You'll forget about me," he said, instead of answering or clarifying his first point.

"I could _never _forget about you," the commander said strongly. "I _will _never forget about you." He walked to Ace and put his hand on Ace's cheek. "Nobody could ever forget about someone as incredible and kind as you." Ace stared up at him in uncertainty.

"You're being serious?" Marco looked confused by the question, but nodded. Ace didn't know what to say, so just looked at his blue eyes.

Marco cupped Ace's face in both hands. "I don't want you to be with me unless you want to be with me. And if you're not sure yet, then nothing will happen until you are sure. I won't touch you if you don't want me to-" but he stopped what he was going to say when Ace's left hand covered Marco's on his cheek.

"Don't forget about me. I'll try, it might work, but I'll never forgive you if you forget about me." It must have surprised Marco, but he promised he wouldn't. He had been forgotten too many times, brushed aside, skipped over, left out, faded away _too many times. _Ace couldn't have someone claim to love him only to one day leave him behind, whether to be cruel or not. Ace just couldn't handle that anymore.

Marco pressed his forehead against Ace's and his face darkened with a blush. "Thatch said sayla do this to show affection," Marco said softly. Marco was much taller than Ace was, so Ace was looking upwards in order for their foreheads to press together.

"Y-yeah," Ace mumbled.

"Ace, don't let anyone on this ship change who you are. Don't pretend you're a human because you're not and you should be proud of being yourself," Marco said strongly. He pulled back and stared into Ace's eyes. "Don't change for anyone."

Ace nodded. He wouldn't put up a human look to make those who knew what he was feeling more comfortable. Ace didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable, but he shouldn't have to hide who he was because someone didn't like his appearance or thought it was wrong. Marco intertwined his fingers with Ace's. "Want to go get breakfast?" Ace nodded. They held hands tightly while walking to the galley, Marco smiling softly while Ace's cheeks were dark blue still.

Some people looked at them curiously, maybe thinking it was nothing different since Ace had held Marco's hand before, and they thought it was just something the sayla did. When they walked into the galley, some were already sitting, which Ace wasn't used to since he was usually the first one to arrive. He'd slept in for being in the comfort of the guest bed again. No more infirmary was making him happy.

When Thatch saw it, he squealed happily. Ace saw Marco glower at him, probably angry that Thatch was asking questions like he had. Marco asked where Ace wanted to sit, and he looked at his usual table. They two got food and Marco went to Ace's usual table with him. Marco had sat with him there before, but not every time.

When people filtered in, they looked at Marco and Ace's hands still together and resting on the table while they ate with their other hands. Ace smiled at the table, talking with his tablemates happily. Ace felt stares on him, but felt that it wasn't just because it was him, but Marco, who was grinning and talking with the miscellaneous pirates he rarely spent time with. There were just too many pirates to be close to them all.

Ace knew he'd have to be in one of the divisions, and be part of the crew and help around once he joined. He had no problem with pulling his weight, but he didn't really know what to expect when it came to the divisions. Would he bunk with other people and lose his private room? Or would they let him keep it due to him not being used to this and probably being stared at.

He wouldn't mind bunking with Nick and Mika too much. The sayla wondered which commander he would get. Not Thatch or Marco, as he knew they would play favorites and he didn't want his friend and potential-partner to be his bosses. Yes, he'd have to obey them due to them being commanders, but he didn't want Thatch or Marco to be completely in charge of him.

Thatch eventually came over to sit and eat with Ace and Marco. Ace was happy to be around his new friends, and knew someone here cared about him a lot, more than a friend. Ace had never had someone like him like that, and it made him feel special for once. Like he was important.

-x-

Marco was in a great mood all day, even when Ace wasn't around. He smiled the whole day, which he almost never did, mostly keeping a neutral expression on his face. Thatch giggled every time he saw Marco. The first mate was irate with Thatch asking Ace weird questions about romance, but it didn't hurt anything in the long run. He was trying to be more forgiving and kind after meeting Ace.

He breezed through his duties, working around the ship when he had to and Ace wasn't there. Mid afternoon, Whitebeard had called Marco to a meeting between just those two. The room was empty, and he'd passed the library, where Ace was napping, curled up on the couch. Before going to the meeting, he quickly laid the blanket over Ace gently.

Whitebeard was already in the room when Marco entered. "Hey, Pops. What's up?" Marco asked pleasantly. Pops was looking at him in slight amusement. The phoenix had a clear idea about what this meeting was about, since it was only Marco there.

"I never thought it would happen like _this," _he said with a laugh. Marco knew what he was referencing. Marco just shrugged, and said, "Ace is a unique person. I couldn't help but be drawn in."

"That he is. And he's accepted your affections?" It was weird to talk about this kind of thing, since they'd never before. Barely anyone on the crew were in a relationship, and it was usually with those on the crew with them.

"He's willing to try, as long as I don't forget about him," Marco replied. "He hasn't had the best past. And for now, he doesn't want to join the family. The crew is fine, but he doesn't want to be called a son or a brother," he explained. Whitebeard's face fell at this. "He said he already had a family and he didn't want a replacement."

The captain looked very sad at this. Everyone should have a family, but he'd had that answer many times before. He could only hope that Ace would change his mind. He was just happy Ace was willing to stay, especially after everything that had happened since he was brought onto the Moby Dick.

"Well, at least he's willing to stay. Hopefully we can change his mind, but won't try to do it actively. He will need to be assigned a division. Definitely not yours or Thatch's. You would play favorites and abuse your status, even if you don't mean to. But, we can't have him be on any of the divisions that still dislike him or their commander does. I was thinking of Izo's division. He gets along with Ace, does not dislike him."

Marco nodded, agreeing. Izo would make a good commander for Ace. Even if he was blunt, Izo was honest and Ace would appreciate that. The okama also had a soft side he would show for his more sensitive division members that the other commanders did not. "He will need to be assigned duties that do not affect his new health problems. Being a shipwright would not be good for him, so Izo's division would be good. They handle clothes, and I could see him enjoying sewing or knitting. He likes being useful, and now he knows he won't be able to do strenuous work," Marco explained. Whitebeard nodded as well.

"He will be in his true form from now on. There's no good reason that he should hide around us. On islands, it might be best to have him in disguise, but not here," the first mate said strongly.

Whitebeard agreed completely. "Since he is unwilling to join the family yet, I will not make him get the tattoo, no matter if I or others want him to. He will just put the mark on his clothes for now," the captain replied. "We'll have Izo edit his clothing." Marco nodded.

"We will have a meeting later today, after dinner. With all of the commanders," the captain added.

"Can we let him keep his own room for now?" Marco asked, thinking Ace was not adjusted enough from having his own space to sharing a room with six people. "Since he's going to go around in sayla appearance, I think people will be unable to stare, and if he's being watched while sleeping, it may make him uncomfortable."

"Yes, that is fine. Try your best to not give Ace privileges that others in divisions do not have. If it were a different situation, I would not allow a commander to have a relationship with one of their subordinates."

Marco knew this, but he also knew Pops would let him be with Ace, especially since he was not part of the crew yet, when they started to try at the relationship. Marco would do everything to make Ace comfortable and happy with him. He really did care about Ace deeply. Seeing his smile was a wonderful sight, hearing his giggle was adorable, the little stars on his night sky skin. "Thank you, Pops."

"I want you to be happy. I hope everything works out. I have not spent enough time with him, as I didn't want to make him feel pressured to join. Now that he has agreed, albeit halfway, I will try to talk to him more. Though not calling him son will be difficult."

"Well, we have dealt with this kind of situation before. It's just different this time, very different," Marco replied.

"That it is. Well, you are dismissed. We will have a meeting including Ace tonight before bed," the captain said, and Marco left the room. His commander duties were done for today, as he'd gotten them done early. He went to look for Ace, and found him still asleep in the library. Marco smiled as Ace's sleeping face, making him look even younger than usual, and sat on the chair next to his claimed couch. Ace's drawing notebooks were on the table, a pencil stuck out of the last page he'd drawn on. Marco wanted to look, but would not violate Ace's personal space. If Ace wanted him to see, then he would. Marco would not look.

He picked up the book on the pile of already-read books, and found it was Marco's favorite book about a whale that had gotten trapped in the New World and went on adventures. It was incredibly old since he'd had it since he was very young, so it was in bad condition, but Ace was careful with the books, treating them like glass and being gentle with them, never dogearing a page.

It brought back a lot of memories, and he enjoyed the read. Ace woke up when he was about a quarter of the way through. "Hi, Marco," Ace said with a yawn, sitting up with the blanket falling into his lap.

"Hey, Ace. Did you sleep well?"

"I passed out halfway through one of the books," he explained simply.

Marco smiled, feeling bad for Ace's medical condition. And there was nothing they could do since no one was comfortable using human medicine on him, not wanting to risk making something bad happen, or possibly killing him. When he was in normal colors, it was much easier to remember he wasn't human. Marco really did like the blue much more than looking like a human. It suited Ace, and he should be proud of how he really looks.

"I talked to Pops and we'll be assigning you a division tonight since you've decided to stay in the crew and not the family. Which is fine," he added. Ace nodded, not seeming bothered one bit. After all, he knew he'd have to join one if he ended up staying.

"Thanks for not being mad about me, you know, not wanting to be part of your family," Ace said quietly.

"No one will force you. Some might pester, but know they're coming from a good place. We're not like some other crews that force you to join us," Marco said emphatically. Ace nodded, and said he knew. He then asked which division he'd be assigned. "We're thinking of Izo's division. You'd have to learn to sew and knit. They're responsible for clothes and repairing them."

"Okay," Ace said easily, making Marco smile. He was sure making clothes had to be more advanced on World 7, but Ace didn't even mention that, trying to move on as best as he could. "I don't know how to do that, though. But I'll learn," he said casually.

Until dinner, Ace and Marco hung out and just talked or read quietly. Marco enjoyed reading the book, as it was very nostalgic. Ace eventually started doodling or sketching, Marco wasn't sure. He was really attached to the notebooks, and Marco could see why. They were the only thing that he had related to his previous life, the memories he did his best to record onto paper and keep forever.

Dinner, this time Marco asked Ace to sit with the commanders. Ace was uncertain about it, but did it. He was quiet, though, unlike at his other table, and Marco and Thatch could understand why. Some of the commanders had been outright mean to him. Ace said he wanted to forgive, but now that Marco knew more about Ace's childhood, and how underappreciated and almost disliked he had been, Marco could understand how it would be hard to forget how the humans had treated him.

They would just have to try and cover all of that badness with love and affection. Ace deserved to be happy and have people like him. He was likable and interesting, why was that so hard for some of the pirates to understand?

Ace and Thatch would usually be the one to clean up the room, but the duty fell on the sou chefs and fourth division since their commander was summoned to a meeting about Ace. Marco held his hand when they walked to the room. Since there was the empty second division commander's seat, Ace sat there, next to Marco. He had once thought Ace would make a good commander, but sadly, that possibility was taken away from him along with his first heart.

There was no way Ace could fight like he used to be able to, even though they didn't know how good he had been. Now, he had trouble walking without becoming winded and needing a break. Ace was clearly humiliated about it, but no one had said a word about it. Marco took Ace's hand on the table, in case it hadn't been clear before that Marco and Ace were a thing now. He didn't care if any of his brothers thought it wrong or unnatural. As long as Ace didn't, then Marco was happy. Ace was used to interspecies relationships, so this was nothing new to him and he saw no reason to not approve of it.

Some of the commanders stared at the hands with a frowning face that Marco challenged with raised eyebrows. _Is there a problem? _they asked. The meeting began fairly quickly by Pops to not drag on the partly uncomfortable silence.

"Since Ace has agreed to join the crew, but not as a family, we have to decide which division to put him in. Besides Marco, Thatch, Haruta and those who still or had disapproved are not an option." Thatch and Haruta both pouted and crossed their arms like children.

Ace was looking at the table, knowing that many of the commanders were open about their dislike. Ace had heard them, after all. "So I was thinking I would put him in Vista or Izo's division. If Thatch weren't personally attached, I'd assign him to division four.

"Since Ace can no longer fight as best as he can, and that he doesn't like fighting in general, I'm going to assign him to division 16 and help out in the duties of that division. I'm sure that in your advanced world, hand sewing and knitting is not done, but it is how it's done here," Whitebeard finished up.

Marco saw some of his fellow commanders look expectant that Ace would protest, but he said, "Okay. I don't know how to knit or sew, though."

"We'll teach you," Izo said. "Welcome to my division, Ace." Ace nodded with a smile. Izo then turned to Pops, and asked, "Will he be assigned to one of the bunkhouses?"

Whitebeard shook his head. "While he gets more used to the ship, he'll remain in the guest room he occupies at the moment. Eventually, he will move rooms, but we haven't had a change this drastic for one of our members before." Ace thanked him quietly, uncertain if he was going to get scolded for talking out of turn.

"You're welcome. And if you don't wish to be considered family, then welcome to the crew," the captain said pleasantly.

"What? He's not gonna be a brother?" Haruta whined like a child. Ace shook his head, but didn't say why. "But, he'll still be on the crew?"

"That is correct. And we won't force him to get a tattoo, we'll have the mark sewn onto his shirts," Pops replied. The commanders nodded, and then Fossa asked, slightly awkwardly, if Marco and Ace were a thing now. Ace's cheeks flushed, but Marco smiled pleasantly and said that they were.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Marco asked in a faux-friendly voice that would send any lesser man running. Fossa shook his head immediately. "Good." Pops laughed loudly, and Ace looked like he wanted to get out of the room as soon as possible.

Once the meeting was over, Thatch sidled up to Ace and held onto his arm. Haruta pushed Marco out of the way and latched on to Ace's bad arm, though gently. Marco sighed and knew what the two were doing. They were going to try and recruit Ace to prank with them. Marco couldn't see him doing that at all. At least not anytime soon. He wouldn't go out of his way to cause trouble for others.

Marco was right as that was Ace's reply when he was offered to help them prank. "Oh, people enjoy it!" Haruta insisted.

"Someone told me you guys drop buckets of paint on people and ruin their clothes," Ace pointed out. "That would make me angry."

"Awww, don't be a stick in the mud, they secretly enjoy it," Thatch said.

"We really don't," Marco said, able to hear their entire conversation. Thatch and Haruta turned around and stuck their tongues out at the first division commander. Ace looked confused, probably now knowing what a stick in the mud meant. They may be able to talk thanks to the chip-thing in Ace's head, but sayings were often lost on the sayla. He often didn't ask what they meant, but Thatch and Marco knew by now. "A stick in the mud means someone with no sense of humor," Marco explained. Ace frowned, and Thatch backtracked.

"It's just something people say. It's not actually an insult," Thatch made sure to say. Like usual, Ace moved on, forgiving Thatch even if it was something small. Marco shoved Haruta out of the way to hold Ace's hand.

"This is my hand, not yours," Marco said casually.

"Yeah, Haruta, and this one is mine. Take a hike," Thatch smirked. Haruta huffed, called them assholes, and then stomped away. "He's just jealous. Anyways, pranking is fun. I promise!"

Ace just nodded, becoming a bit awkward. They arrived at Ace's room, which was on the other side of the ship from the commanders' rooms. Marco was bummed that their rooms were so far away. After kissing Ace's forehead and wishing him goodnight, Thatch and Marco headed back to their own sleeping quarters. It was late by now.

"Thatch?" Marco asked, too pleasantly. "I would appreciate it if you didn't ask Ace awkward romance questions anymore. And I'm sure he'd appreciate it more." Thatch frowned, before pointing out the questions were probably what got him the kid in the first place. "He's not a kid," Marco was quick to say. He wasn't comfortable having a person he had romantic feelings for be called a child.

"Sorry, sorry," Thatch mumbled. "Have naughty dreams of Ace tonight!" and then he sprinted to his room and Marco heard the door lock. Marco grumbled, and truly hoped he did not have any naughty dreams of Ace. It would make him hard to be around the next morning. He changed into his pyjamas and laid on the bed, falling asleep and thankfully having no naughty dreams.


	10. Life In The 16th Division

Ace watched his new division members try to teach him how to stitch a single line into a practice cloth. He was happy to know that most of Izo's division supported him joining, seeing he was a nice guy and made Marco smile. Ace was not doing too well with catching on on how to do a single, simple stitch. He was embarrassed, but didn't apologize. He had no former experience. The others said that they had at least been around others who could sew or knit. But, they were patient with him, which was all he could ask for.

They had quickly sewn Whitebeard's mark onto the backs of all of Ace's shirts. None of them had made any show that Ace looking how he was supposed to made them uncomfortable. Ace was sure now he'd been paying attention to the mean pirates instead of all of them. He could see himself becoming friends with his division members. Not all of them since there were one hundred others besides himself, but hopefully he got to know most of them.

When Ace finally was able to do a stitch without pricking his finger, those around him cheered like they'd just mastered something very difficult. Ace flushed. "It was only one stitch," he muttered, feeling a bit embarrassed, they laughed.

"Don't worry," Thomas said. "It took a lot of us a lot longer than two hours to be able to do that. Now, to keep on with the stitch, do this," and his tutors continued to teach him until he was able to do a simple stitch, practicing doing something that was needed the most: sewing back on buttons. People lost buttons more than they damaged clothes.

Ace enjoyed hanging out with these people. Maybe not as much as Thatch or Marco, but they were friendly and joked a lot, even if Ace didn't understand half of the jokes. But, he sort of became the joke when they showed him into the room of clothes that were damaged and needed to be repaired. His jaw dropped at the absolute mountain of clothes in a huge pile. His jaw dropped.

"How does this happen? Does no one care about their clothes?" Ace asked in shock. The room broke into laughter.

"Nah, cause they know they have us to fix them," Wafie replied. "There's no consequence to them destroying half of their shit if they have people who have to fix it up. The only time clothes are ever thrown out is if we can't get blood stains out of them." He said it so casually. If someone said that on Ace's planet, he'd think they must be murderers. "Blood is hard to get out of clothes unless you bleach it," he explained.

"We're each assigned a pile of clothes we have to work on for six days of the week. We have a break day on whatever day we'd like. Those who finish theirs on time get one less shirt to fix. There's not much we can do about the amount of clothes being sent in. Pirates will be pirates."

"Some of us are assigned certain people we have to fix up if they prefer our certain skill. Just hope you don't do too well or you'll be claimed and have to fix up someone's clothes all the time. And truthfully, you don't want to get settled with commander Thatch's sou chef. He may be a good cook, but he gets stains on his clothes all the time. Big stains, like a whole glass of cranberry juice. The washers have to scrub the stains out."

Ace looked surprised that none of them seemed bothered. "You don't dislike doing this?" he wondered. The amount of workload looked staggering.

"Nah, it's not a big deal after you get good enough you can fix a hole in three minutes. We also turn it into a competition, too. Besides, there is now one hundred and one of us, working for sixteen hundred people. Means we each only get a few articles of clothes a day,"Josay said. "And you don't want to get assigned the infirmary cases. When blood gets on a towel, or chemical stains, or a tear in the bed."

"You'll get used to it, Ace. Don't worry. It's an easier job than the navigators or intelligence officers. Honestly, this is a better setup than theirs. We just chill in a big room together, talking and sewing up some holes," Mika said. He was the only pirate Ace knew here prior to being assigned this division.

"So, I heard you and commander Marco are a thing," Josay asked when Ace was working on fixing practice sheets. They were cut purposely for practice for the newbys to work on instead of making damaged clothes worse, or giving them bad fixes.

Ace nodded, tongue sticking out just barely as he practiced, sitting on a pillow in the big room full of messed up clothes. "Is it weird, like, being with another species? Like that?" Josay wondered. Ace shook his head.

"It would seem a bit odd for Marco, but in my solar system, species mingled and lived together. They can't reproduce since they're completely different species, but it isn't that big of a deal there. So it's nothing new to me," Ace replied honestly, knowing Josay was just curious and didn't seem mean or demeaning in his questions.

"What about, you know? Sex?" he asked. Ace shrugged. He didn't know a thing about human anatomy, so he couldn't say. He didn't know what he and Marco had in common, or if they had anything similar. He wasn't much interested in sex anyways. It didn't matter to him.

"I have no idea. I don't know how the human body works, so I can't say," he replied casually. Once he'd finished the practice cuts, he took a pair of scissors and made some new ones to practice with. "Do fishmen and humans ever mingle?" Ace questioned curiously. They were from the same planet, so it would make sense if they mingled or not.

Josay shook his head. "There's intense hatred and stigma regarding human and fishmen politics and relationships. Noble humans buy fishmen and merfolk as slaves so it's obvious there would be a lot of badness packed into that particular subject. I'm sure there are some out there who ignore the stigma, but they're not a big thing here. They mostly stick to their places, unlike commander Namur. Though his integration here was a bit like yours. Slow and awkward."

Ace didn't understand why people like that would be called "noble", but didn't say anything. "Though, I do think there's a member of the Big Mom crew that is half mermaid of some sort," Josay mentioned. Ace hadn't heard much but the name in passing, so he asked who Big Mom was. "She's another yonko like Pops, just much, much crueler. She pumps out babies to fuel her crew and make it bigger and more powerful. Trust me, you never want to come across that monster. She'd probably steal you away since she'd reportedly interested in unique species." Ace looked horrified.

"Don't worry, Ace, we'd never let you get taken by that evil broad," Mika said from behind, coming into the room with a huge bin of thread and needles. "But her kids are pretty powerful. One of them can even see the future a little bit."

Ace wasn't much impressed by that, since lots of sayla could see into the future for varying amounts of time. Some were only minutes but others could see big events weeks before they happened. Over all, Ace was not mystified by devil fruit abilities. They seemed like weaker powers than the sayla had.

After about an hour of practice, it was lunchtime and the crowd of the sixteenth division put their things back in their rightful places and left for lunch, Ace following with a smile. No one had looked at him in a mean way, or said anything bad. They talked to him like a normal person, despite him being in his normal skin color, which he was happy to be able to do.

Ace sat with Marco this time, and told him about the sixteenth division and how he was not very good at sewing. Izo assured him he'd get better, and Ace smiled at him, showing off his white teeth and dark blue tongue. Unlike humans, his tongue was not pink, but looked the same besides the color.

Marco seemed happy for Ace, but clearly wished he could spend more time with him alone. And they had a break from working, so Ace would hang out with him. It was different to now have responsibilities, but he didn't hate it. It made him feel useful, even if he was no good at it yet.

The sayla ignored Kingdew and Atmos looked disgruntled at his presence. Ace ate happily, for the first time feeling accepted because his own division approved of him being part of it. He looked forward to getting better at his new job because he wanted to be useful if he couldn't fight, and didn't want to. If he were ordered to, he knew he'd have to since Whitebeard was his captain, but now, he physically couldn't without becoming embarrassingly and dangerously winded. If walking made him tired, then fighting would be way too much for him to handle.

And maybe that was a partly good thing. He couldn't fight and therefore he wouldn't, even if he wasn't averse to it.

After lunch, Marco and Ace went to the crowsnest, and Ace sat against Marco's side on the bench, listening to some stories about the New World that he hadn't read in the log books. The pirate always made the stories more interesting by telling them instead of Ace just reading the reports from the log books.

Ace passed out halfway through the story, and woke up in Marco's lap with his chin resting on Ace's head. "You awake?" Marco asked quietly.

"Yeah…" Ace murmured. Marco asked if Ace was okay with being in his lap like this, and Ace replied that it was fine.

"Did anyone say anything about you being unwelcome today? Or did your new division accept you? We didn't talk into much detail at the galley," Marco said.

Ace smiled, though Marco couldn't see it. "They were really accepting. And they told me about some other pirates, and then told me they'd never let her take me. We talked a little bit about you and me cause they were curious about how we felt about being different species, but they were curious questions and I didn't hear anything mean or negative in their voices. I like them, I think I'll be friends with many of them. I wasn't expecting them to be so nice. I'm happy, though," he finished sincerely. Marco smiled.

"What did you talk about?" Marco wondered, taking Ace's good hand in his own and intertwining their fingers.

"They asked if it was weird to be with someone who wasn't the same species as you. I said I was used to it from home, but I wasn't sure if you found it a bit odd. Then they asked about sex, and I just said I didn't know since I don't know about human anatomy," Ace replied casually. He didn't see Marco's face turn red. Ace just didn't really think sex was important. His world didn't value it much since so many different-species couples were unable to do so. He didn't know if humans found it important.

Marco cleared his throat, and said, "Those are pretty personal questions. Do they not bother you?"

Ace shook his head. "It's natural to be curious about it. Besides, it didn't share anything I'd be embarrassed about. Or you. Remember, I like being honest. Besides, they weren't mean about it. I liked them. Mika and Josay the most. Have you ever seen how much damaged clothes there are? Do humans just not care about the state of their clothing?" the sayla questioned curiously, almost incredulously. Marco laughed.

"Yeah, not many of us are careful with our clothing. I'm glad you're happy in Izo's division," Marco said sincerely. "Though now that you are part of the crew, you'll have more work to do."

Ace nodded. "That's fine. I like to feel useful. Especially now that I'm a burden with health problems," he said simply. Marco stroked his thumb over Ace's knuckle. They both knew even if he told Ace he wasn't a burden, he'd still feel he was. But Marco said it anyway.

"You're not a burden. There are a lot of people on the ship that have health problems that interfere with things. Even Pops has health problems and he's the captain. Besides, it is in no way your fault that you have these problems," Marco said emphatically. Ace just shrugged slightly. "Someday you'll know that I'm telling the truth, and until that day I'll wait patiently."

"Thanks," Ace said quietly, really appreciating Marco didn't push him on this. Ace had low self-esteem and it wouldn't be changing anytime soon. He needed to be able to trust this crew, and while he trusted a few, there were many he didn't trust. But, he'd do his best to build it up. He felt that it wasn't worth it to try to convince anyone of his goodness if they didn't already believe he was a good person.

They sat in the crowsnest for a couple hours, silent for a lot of it, but not in an uncomfortable way. Eventually, someone went looking for Ace to come practice some more. Ace was carried down on Marco's back because of his arm, though it was now only in a brace. It healed quicker than humans' did, and he was able to do more with it now. But he was still gentle with it.

Ace headed back to the room with the supplies and got to work on practicing. He was doing better with the direction of more skilled people around him. By the end of the day, he was able to sew a cut together, even if it was fairly messy. But, he was learning and was confident he'd be able to master it in maybe a week if he practiced non-stop.

He helped Thatch after dinner, since they didn't have much time to hang out that day with Ace's working and spending time with Marco. He was still bummed that Ace wasn't in his division, though he said he understood why. Didn't mean he had to like it. Ace was on his first watch duty that night, but Thatch offered to stay up with him for his half of watch. Not everyone stayed up the whole night, they switched and went to bed halfway through the night.

Ace looked up at the night sky, glad he could see the stars so well. Back at home, artificial lights made it hard to see all of the stars like this. It was nice. "You know what I think? Your freckles look like the night sky on your blue skin."

"A lot of people say that. They said I should get tattoos to connect them like constellations," Ace replied. Thatch sat up and said that sounded like a great idea. "Not on my face, though. Maybe my back, though it wouldn't show much," he replied.

"If you ever get Pops' mark, you could have it in black with the white freckles connected in constellations. That would be a beautiful tattoo," Thatch commented.

"Maybe someday. Not anytime soon, probably," Ace replied. Thatch nodded. "Are you mad that I don't want to be part of your family?"

Thatch shook his head. "Not anymore. I was never _mad, _just a bit sad and disappointed. But, I understand why. It's not easy to form another family just like that. We've had a lot like that. It's nothing new, really. Don't feel bad about it, being on the crew is enough for me. And even if it's in name only, I'm sure people would be more comfortable with you and Marco not being brothers."

"What? Why? Siblings on my planet are couples…" Ace said. When Thatch looked slightly horrified, Ace burst into laughter. "Just kidding." Thatch scowled, but then chuckled. "Am I a stick in the mud?"

"Nah. I was just joking. But someday I will convince you to help me out with my pranks. Just you wait," the chef said in a determined voice. Their watch duty came to an end and their replacement appeared. Thatch helped Ace down, and they both went to their rooms, on opposite sections of the ship. "See you tomorrow, Ace."

"Night, Thatch."

Ace crawled into his bed, for once looking forward to waking up in the morning. He still missed his home, friends, and brothers' memories, but he couldn't go back and might as well make the best of the time he had, even if he was on a planet he didn't want to be on.

A week in, and Ace was already able to make designs on clothing, along with fixing up damaged pieces. Shirts were easier than pants in his opinion. Something he hadn't expected was people asking him for commissions. To make them designs on clothing. Ace didn't know why, as he didn't think he was that great, but he agreed and was paid some money for them, even if he had no idea what he'd buy with it.

Apparently, there were many that did commissions, so Ace just joined them. He was asked to make a blanket with a dragon on it. He was given a drawing to reference, and free handed the dragon outline. He couldn't fill it in quite yet, but the outline was all that was asked for. After drawing a lot, he'd improved in that as well, though mostly for animals and not people.

He felt good when his fellow division members praised his improvement. He felt very useful and it was a nice feeling after feeling useless and a waste of space for weeks. He was able to sew patterns on his own clothes during his free time. When he was with Marco, they'd talk or be quiet while Ace worked, killing two birds with one stone. Spending time with Marco and doing his duty.

They were going to be docking at an island the next day, and Ace would be helping his division buy more thread and fabric. Marco couldn't interfere, since it would be abusing his position to take Ace from his duties to spend personal time with him. But, they'd be going on the island together on the second day. The first day was always to get supplies so they could spend the rest of the visit to do things they wanted to.

Of course, he'd be going in his human colors when in public. He didn't need unnecessary attention. And being blue would definitely bring attention.

Ace was nervous but excited about being on another island. The last time was nice, before Thatch found the fruit that caused all sorts of problems. When he was with Marco, he asked him to explain about the island. It wasn't a protected island, but it did have a marine base. They docked the ship at the opposite side of the island. "But won't the marines want to capture you - us?" Ace asked, correcting himself.

"Most marines don't bother with us. They know they can't defeat us, but every now and then some decide to go to their deaths and try to take us out. It ends the same every time, they never learn. Besides, we're followed almost constantly. That's how the marines know when we make contact with another yonko."

Ace looked surprised that marines followed the ship. "Does that mean they've seen me? How I naturally look?" he asked in some worry. Marco assured him that they couldn't see the individual people on the ship, but only its tiny form in the distance. "What do you think they'd do if they saw me?" Ace wondered.

Marco said, "I honestly have no idea. They might think you're a very humanoid fishman. They could never guess you were an alien, at least I don't think so. Thatch only really new at first because you fell out of the sky."

"Hmmm," Ace hummed. He ran his hand along Marco's jaw unexpectedly. "Why do humans have hair on their faces?"

"You're asking _now? _Hundreds of our members have facial hair," Marco said in amusement. "Men just grow facial hair on their bodies. Some of us shave it, but others let it grow out. I don't like growing it out, but I usually have stubble. Not much, but it's there."

Ace looked down at Marco's legs. "And why is there hair on other parts of your body?"

"Supposedly to keep humans warm. Do you really have no body hair?" Marco asked. Ace shook his head. "How have we not noticed this?" the first mate asked in shock. Ace told him the nurses knew about it. "But, you have eyebrows and hair on your head."

Ace shrugged. "Don't know why we have it there. It's just there. I never knew that other species had body hair like you humans do. Latrals are covered in hair, but they're a different species and look nothing like us," the sayla explained.

"Tell me about them," Marco said, and Ace did.

The next day, Ace was back to being in human colors, which was odd after getting used to being himself over the past week. He looked completely normal now, and no one would guess he wasn't human. He and his division members and Izo were going to split up and get as much stuff as they could at each fabric and supply store. They had thousands of berries to spend on what they needed, just like the fourth division and Thatch going to go get food. Ace would have gone with Thatch again, but he had duties to do now.

Ace went with Mika, Josay and seven other members to the nearest store, which was relatively small, but had a huge assortment of thread in bulk, along with fabrics filling up the walls. Ace looked around curiously, asking his division members what some things were in interest. He could tell the others thought his interest in certain things was cute.

Since he was the youngest on the ship, he was the baby to everyone. Ace was fine with that thinking as long as they didn't treat him differently because of his age and very youthful looks. By the end of the visit, they'd cleaned out the whole store, both alarming the owner and making her very happy with all of the money she'd received.

The ten of them headed to the bar, while Ace went next door at the coffee shop. He wasn't fond of the smell of alcohol, so why would he want to taste it? The coffee shop smelled strongly, but not in a bad way. Though Ace didn't drink it, the smell of fresh coffee was nice.

He ordered some random food from the display case near the register with the berries he'd gotten from commissions. He'd had to be taught how this world's currency worked before going shopping, but it was easy to learn and memorize.

Ace sat at the nearest table to the door, his large bag of thread on the floor next to his foot. The strawberry cake was delicious and so was the croissant. He ate quietly, drinking the hot chocolate once it was cool.

The sayla did not notice the girls giggling in the corner while looking at him, or he would have felt very uncomfortable. Having crewmates think he was adorable was one thing. If he did notice, he would have also noticed they immediately stopped once Ace stood up to leave, giving the plate and empty mug back to the worker at the counter.

Ace's shirt was blue with a white stitching of the Whitebeard mark on the back. He did notice the girls glaring at him on his way out, and didn't say anything about it. He headed to the bar to see his division members had already left, probably heading back to the ship. He wasn't bummed about that, he knew drunk people were often forgetful. And he was the one that branched off from the group in the first place.

He was just around the corner when he ran into a human, knocking him down. The guy seemed to be in a hurry and just jumped over Ace, dropping a large bag of money on him. He stood up, looking at the bag. "Hey! You dropped this…" he said, but the man was already too far away. The sayla had no idea where to put it, since it wasn't his and the owner had fled.

Then, two marines went around the corner and saw Ace holding it. "Hey! Did you steal that?" one of them demanded. Ace was glad they had maine on their caps or he would have not recognized the outfit.

"No, some guy ran into me and dropped it. Is it yours?" he asked, walking to the marines and handing them the bags. "It's not mine, so you can have it," Ace said pleasantly. He handed the bag to the taller marine, who blatantly looked shocked at Ace's politeness. He made sure to keep his back out of view, not wanting them to know he was a pirate.

"Well, that's very nice of you. Would you mind telling us what the thief looked like?" Ace nodded.

"Darker skin, wearing a red hat. I think he had glasses and a trenchcoat on. I didn't see much of him before he ran off. He went around the corner and that way," Ace said, pointing to the direction he saw the man head to.

"Well thank you, sir. Have a nice day," the shorter marine said. Ace nodded and said, "You, too." He watched them go around the corner until they were gone before he turned his back to them. They didn't have a clue that Ace was a pirate, as he definitely didn't act like one. After all, most pirates don't have friendly chats with marines or return money that was given to them. In that respect, Ace really was not a pirate. Marco would probably laugh at that once he told him. His fellow crewmates would probably have wished he'd kept the money.

When he was nearing the edge of town, he saw the two marines and the thief in handcuffs. Looked like they caught him fairly quickly. "You asshole, you sold me out!" the thief shouted. Ace didn't know why he would have to defend a criminal he did not know, so he just didn't answer.

Ace walked around the scene, and headed down the path that led to the docks. He didn't expect the marines to look back, but they had and now saw the mark on the back of his shirt. "Hey, kid! You didn't say you were a pirate!" the taller one shouted in anger. Probably because they got help and had a chat with one of their enemies.

The sayla turned around, and simply said, "You didn't ask." And he turned back around and walked to the ship, though he had turned his hearing up so he would know if they had gone after him. All he heard was some grumbling from the two, maybe ashamed to get help from pirates, let alone a Whitebeard.

"He must be new and not have the tattoo they all have yet," short one said.

"Brat doesn't look particularly strong, might as well try to take him in." Ace immediately stopped and turned around. He didn't want to fight, but he knew he'd be caught if he tried running and got exhausted. "Hey, you'll need to come with us."

"No," Ace replied calmly. It was best to stay calm, and not blow up. Even if he was a bit uneasy, he wouldn't make himself into a bigger problem. "I have places to be, just take him and please leave me be."

Again, they were thrown off by Ace's politeness. It actually seemed to anger them, and when one pulled a sword, Ace immediately turned up the volume around them so loud that just the sound of rustling clothes was a pain for the humans. He made sure that no civilians were affected by it. The three men, two marines and one criminal, held their hands over their ears in pain. It wouldn't hurt them in the long run, but it would last long enough for Ace to get back to the ship safely.

The three were left behind, unable to follow since their footsteps would be painful. It was only when he was back at the ship that he snapped his fingers and the power deactivated. Ace casually brought the threads to the fabrics room and put them in the cases, arranged by colors.

When he went out for lunch, arms wrapped around his waist from behind. "Where have you been? Your division came back without you."

"Didn't go to the bar with them, went to a coffee shop. Then I had a little encounter with some marines," Ace said casually. Marco looked worried at it. Ace chuckled. "I think I pissed them off a lot. Some guy stole a bunch of money and dropped it on me. The marines came looking for it so I gave it back and then politely gave them directions to where the guy went. They didn't know I was a pirate until after they caught the guy. I think they were mad they got along with a pirate." Marco was laughing at it.

"Did anything come of it?" he asked after controlling his laughter.

"Yeah, they wanted to take me in but I just turned up the volume really loud so they wouldn't follow me," the younger replied, shifting back into blue form seamlessly. Marco thought the whole thing was really funny, and told the other commanders at the table when Ace sat with him.

Whitebeard chuckled deeply. "You sure don't act like a pirate, Ace," he said jovially. Ace just smiled. He didn't want to be rude or violent or act like a criminal. He may be a pirate, but he was still himself and wouldn't change for anything, just like Marco said.


	11. New Developments

**blueflamegoddess: There's an even funnier interaction with an enemy later. I love that part.**

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**Finished and posted a fic that has been on hiatus for a year, I'm so happy to complete it! It's a zolu fic. Enjoy~**

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Marco held Ace's hand as they went around the island, not just sticking to the town. They made sure to keep away from the marine base, and eventually went to a nice restaurant. Marco had his shirt closed over the tattoo and Ace was wearing the shirt inside out so they could have a peaceful time at the restaurant. Marco glowered when he noticed a bunch of girls pointing and giggling at Ace. Marco did admit Ace was a looker even in this form, but he was irate with them. Ace didn't even notice.

The first mate knew he was being immature when he took Ace's hand in his own while he looked at the menu, and the girls glared at him with hate. He just wore a small smile, not making any show he noticed the girls in the first place. Ace was adorably oblivious to his looks. Anyone would think he was adorable with his freckled cheeks.

"Are you okay?" Ace suddenly asked. Marco looked surprised and nodded. Ace lifted his eyebrows, clearly seeing that Marco was not telling the whole truth.

"Fine, every woman that has walked into this restaurant has been ogling you while we eat," Marco explained, being honest. Ace turned to look around and noticed a lot of young women staring at him. He just shrugged.

"Don't worry, I'm with you, not them. You have no reason to feel any jealousy," Ace said simply, eating some of his spaghetti. Marco just smiled.

"I guess I don't need to be worried," Marco replied, with Ace nodding in agreement. But Marco couldn't help but be annoyed with the women. When they were about to leave, younger girls having joined the onlookers, with Ace still adorably oblivious, Marco _accidentally _moved his shirt open to show the Whitebeard mark. The younger girls didn't understand what it was but the women did, and immediately left.

Ace paid at the counter and gave a tip to the waitress with a smile, before coming back to Marco and noticing much of the customers had left. Not that they came for food in the first place. The commander took Ace's hand and intertwined their fingers, leaving the restaurant and Marco leading them to the forest. "Where are we going?" Ace wondered.

"I thought you wanted to be an explorer?" Marco asked in amusement when Ace's face lit up.

For the next two hours, Marco saw an Ace he'd never seen before. He was so curious about everything, looking in tree holes to see the animals inside. It was like watching a child in the candy store.

"Do you want to see the forest from above? I can fly after all. Why not make use of it?" Ace nodded and Marco had him climb onto his back, before he transformed into his full phoenix form. He felt Ace cling to him for dear life, arms and legs wrapped around him tightly. Marco made sure to go slow and do his best not to scare Ace.

The sayla was breathing even quicker than usual, meaning he was nervous or maybe even afraid. But he hadn't asked to be let down, so Marco wouldn't. Marco flew them over the forest before Ace said, "Put me down, put me down!" in a panicked voice. Marco trilled out a chuckle as Ace clung to him for dear life before descending and landing on the branches of a large tree. Marco shifted and held him close.

"Didn't know you were afraid of heights, you should have told me," Marco said, though he sounded amused.

"I'm not afraid of heights, I'm afraid of being up in the air without a seat belt," he corrected, and was now fine, even though they were in a very tall tree, looking down. Ace sat on the branch, and watched critters run around below.

"Seat belt?" Marco questioned, sitting next to his partner.

Ace nodded and explained that they let you in a seat for safety purposes. Marco thought it sounded boring, but not everyone can regenerate and survive a fall from high up. Wait… "Wait, you fell out of the sky and you're afraid of heights?"

Ace frowned. "It's not like I enjoyed falling out of the sky. It was terrifying," he replied. "But I'm really glad I survived, and that my arm healed pretty quickly," he added, looking down at the brace. It wasn't an issue for Ace anymore. He did have some scars on his back, but they were a light blue, barely visible to him.

"I wish I could have visited your world," Marco muttered, wrapping an arm around Ace's freckled shoulders. "And met your friends and brothers."

Ace smiled softly and nodded in agreement. "Sabo would have been very skeptical over you, while Luffy probably woulda' liked you a lot." Marco was shocked that Ace was openly talking to him about his precious brothers, who always seemed to bring tears to Ace's eyes to think or talk about. Which was why they knew the bare minimum of the boys who had gotten sick and passed away many years ago.

"They sound like they were interesting guys," Marco said quietly. He turned and kissed Ace's cheek, wishing he was blue again. Ace smiled at the soft kiss. The two sat in the tree for a long time before the sun was getting lower and they should get back for dinner.

Marco flew them both down, Ace fine with this since it wasn't nearly as high up as before, and then they walked back through the forest and to the ship. The two headed up the ramp and onto the deck, and when they went inside, Ace immediately turned back to normal, and Marco once again realized just how much he preferred Ace's natural skin.

Thatch was cooking, and Ace went to the bar counter to offer to help. Thatch waved it off, saying he could do it since it was club sandwiches and all he needed to put out was the ingredients for the pirate to make their own sandwiches. "So, how did it go?" the chef asked Ace and Marco.

"A bunch of ladies kept looking at me and Marco didn't like it," Ace said, sipping a mouthful of water from his glass that was just given to him. Thatch chuckled, and Marco looked embarrassed.

"Well, you are a looker, even in human colors," Thatch said. "I think we can all agree on that." Ace blushed a bit at the awkward compliment. He didn't know whether to say thank you or not. Marco chuckled, and put his arm around Ace's shoulders again. He liked that feeling, being close to Ace like this. He didn't know how far Ace ever wanted to try going, so he kept the physical affection near a minimum. Well, as well as he could.

He wanted to kiss Ace, but it was still too early to him. They'd only been trying to be together for over a week, and Marco wanted to do anything but rush. After all, Ace didn't love him back like Marco did. He would have to learn to love Marco, and he would do what he could for Ace to know Marco deeply cared for him.

He wasn't going to fake and bribe Ace into liking him, or tricking him, but he would be the best person he could be. The three talked for a while, before dinner started and Ace sat with his division. Marco wasn't offended, and was actually happy Ace was getting along so well with his division. He could see Ace smiling and laughing with them. It was a different smile than the one he had with Marco.

Some of the crew still didn't accept Ace, but that was their loss. Marco would not scold them anymore, but he couldn't help the glares sent their way from the first mate.

-x-

Ace was in the crowsnest a week later, watching the clouds above drift peacefully across the sky, even if they'd just passed through a storm not long ago. He had used buckets to take the trapped water out of the crowsnest, and now it was only a little damp. He was watching the clouds and finding shapes in them when he could.

Marco was on a mission, and Ace missed him. He had Thatch and his fellow division members, but he missed Marco. He tried distracting himself with learning how to knit and crochet as best as he could, but it was quiet when doing that, which just made him miss the human more. He leaned over the side and watched his fellow pirates bustle about, doing various things.

Ace had noticed a change in the captain. Ace didn't know why, but he seeked out Ace often to just talk about random things. Whitebeard was a nice man, but Ace just didn't feel like he clicked with him. At least, not yet. The man tried his best to become familiar with the sayla, but it was difficult.

The only time Ace was really comfortable talking was when he was told stories of Marco when he was younger. Since Marco was in his forties, he had a lot of stories Whitebeard told him. The sayla enjoyed listening. Often, when they spoke, Ace would listen while knitting or embroidering. Izo had asked him to help design his new kimono, and Ace knew he had to be careful with it since the fabric was expensive. Izo wanted something new, and asked Ace to design creatures from his world on it. Ace was more than happy to have someone wear something related to his home.

He was extremely careful with it, and finished it within a week, since it was just the outline and one of the other talented members would be filling in the outlines. Ace was happy with the outcome, and hoped Jackson wouldn't mess it up. Though, he was skilled, so Ace didn't worry too much.

With Marco gone and Ace having more time alone, Haruta was trying to come back. Ace spent a lot of time with him playing cards or games around the ship. He was glad the commander didn't try to convince Ace to inconvenience others with his pranks. Ace wouldn't do it, no matter how much either Thatch or Haruta would ask.

While Ace was sitting in the crowsnest a few birds flew overhead, and he knew it was the newspaper. It was inconvenient getting the news of the world from a paper and not on immediate electronics. That was much more convenient, but he tried to stop comparing rudimentary things on earth compared to his planet's technological advances. There was no point anymore to compare.

He caught one of the papers that dropped right above him, and found something slip out of the inside of the paper and Ace caught it before it landed on the damp floor of the crowsnest. His face turned a paler shade of blue when he saw what the photo was.

It was a wanted poster with Ace on it, shown in blue and standing with Marco. His back was to the camera, thankfully, showing the embroidered jolly roger mark on the back of his shirt. It was only for three hundred thousand berries which was pretty small, according to Haruta. The ones showing real strength were in the millions.

Ace didn't like that it showed his blue skin, but was glad it didn't show his face. After all, it didn't matter much that he was blue when only the crew saw it. He was normal colors on islands. Well, normal for earth people.

It had no name on it, since they didn't know Ace's name. He climbed down the ratlines carefully, even though his arm was out of the brace and said to be better. He didn't want to risk anything. Some others of the pirate had seen the paper, and looked at Ace in a worried way until he held up the paper, showing that he already knew what they were worried about.

Whitebeard called him over, and Ace did so. He was the captain, and Ace couldn't refuse any commands, even if he wanted to. But Whitebeard never gave unreasonable commands yet, to anyone. So Ace felt alright doing what the man said to do when he said to do it.

"Since the bounty is so small, you may not have to worry, especially that people know you are a Whitebeard pirate. They did show you in your real skin, so make sure you don't go on any islands like this and you should be safer. I'm sure you'll be fine, and I heard about your tiff with the marines. If you are able to stop them in their tracks, you should be safe unless they have any guns.

"Since you are unable to run or fight without becoming too tired, I would suggest going to places that aren't our protected islands with at least one other person," the captain said. Ace nodded in agreement. It sounded reasonable and smart. He was still embarrassed that he couldn't physically keep up the demands a pirate needs. He was able to climb up to the crowsnest alright, but running and getting things ready for a sudden storm were not doable for him.

Considering how risky the surgery had been, he'd been relatively safe and healthy, besides not being allowed to over do it. He still exercised in his own ways, not wanting to get out of shape, only it was no cardio and mostly weight training very slowly with long breaks between sets. It was working alright. He'd lost a bit of muscle when he was in the infirmary, but it was coming back alright.

"How many people on the crew have bounties?" Ace questioned the captain.

"Marco, Jozu, myself, Vista, and now you. Not many considering how many strong members we have. But, that might be the reason for few posters, everyone already knows our crew is strong, and we don't need tons of individual wanted posters to show our strength," the captain explained. Ace was expecting more wanted posters, and didn't particularly want one of his own. He was just glad he was able to defend himself even if he couldn't do it physically.

"So, I heard you finished the kimono?" Whitebeard asked. Ace nodded, and said he'd gotten a lot of money for it. "What is on it?"

Ace explained that it was a bunch of creatures from his own planet and some of the others. Not the ones that could speak and such, but those alike animals on earth. "Jackson is filling in the outlines with the colors I told him to use."

Whitebeard said he looked forward to seeing it once it was finished, and Ace smiled. "So, how are you liking being on the crew, my boy?" the captain asked. Ace knew it was hard for him to not call Ace "son" since he was part of the crew, so the man settled on "my boy", which Ace was fine with. Many people called others "my boy", not just parents.

"It's a lot better than it was, with my division being accepting and all. And I'm glad to feel useful when I can't really do anything to help out the ship physically. And I really like Thatch and Marco. Thatch is a good friend and Marco's a good partner. I still miss my old home, but I'm getting better about not comparing things anymore. And not thinking about my friends much. So, it's a lot better than it had been, thankfully," Ace explained.

The captain smiled, looking grateful. Glad that Ace was happier. The sayla had an idea about what Whitebeard was going to ask next. Something Thatch pestered him about. "I still don't want to be part of the family," he said, stopping Whitebeard's predictable question. He looked sad at it.

"Will you ever be?" he asked a bit lowly. Ace shrugged and said he wasn't sure still. Whitebeard nodded and didn't say anything about it again, which Ace was grateful for. It was always an awkward subject since so many of his friends wanted to be his brothers instead. Ace knew it came from a place of fondness, but he still didn't feel comfortable calling anyone but Luffy and Sabo his brothers. And he really didn't need a parent figure to forget about him like the previous one. He just didn't want to go through that again. Ace would fade away into the crowd of hundreds of people. Surely the captain couldn't show the same amount of affection to everyone than the commanders. It just wasn't practical.

Marco was still gone a week later, but Ace had been able to talk to him over the transponder snail, still something Ace could not fathom how they found out to use snails as telephones. It was crazy and also pretty amusing. Not that anyone else found it funny, since it was all they'd ever known.

The phoenix said he missed Ace a lot and would be back soon, as the mission was over and they were making their way back to the ship as fast as possible. It had been before bed, and then Ace returned it to Whitebeard. He kept the snails in his room when one of his sons was out on a mission during the night so he wouldn't miss if there was an emergency call.

A couple days before Marco would be back, Ace helped Thatch out in the kitchen, helping to make apple pie. It was one of Ace's favorites besides lemon meringue. "Ace can you go get some more apples from the store room?" Thatch asked, wiping his forehead with his arm. Ace nodded and left the room quickly to go get the basket of apples.

When he entered the room, he sorted through the apples until he found six good ones that still looked in pristine condition. He was surprised when one of them he was holding suddenly turned orange and started to grow, knocking many of the fruits out of his arms. He stared at it as it reformed into a devil fruit.

What were the odds of him being in the room when it formed? The flame-flame fruit. He recognized it from the book, it was a logia. The rarest type of fruit besides Marco's mythical zoan. Ace picked up the other apples and walked back to the kitchen. He handed the six apples to him, having picked up another to replace the one that shifted into the devil fruit.

"Thatch, look at what one of the apples turned into," Ace said, holding up the orange fruit. Thatch looked just as surprised as Ace had been. "It's a logia fruit. Would you want it?" Ace asked. He hadn't even thought about him eating it himself. He had a feeling he'd be fine, since animals could eat it, humans could eat it, and inanimate objects could.

"No, I don't want any devil fruits after what happened. I'm averse to them now. Besides, the one who finds it gets to eat it. That would be you," he said, washing the apples before cutting them up to add to the massive apple pie that already had forty apples inside. They were running out quickly, but they needed a lot for this massive crew.

"But I already have powers," Ace replied.

Thatch nodded, knowing that was true. "It would be safer if you had this power, too. After all, being shot at or cut wouldn't hurt you, and with you being unable to run at full speed, you could risk being injured." Ace knew it was a good point, and looked at the fruit. While he was never overly fascinated by fire, he wasn't afraid of it. Sure, he didn't purposely burn himself, but he wasn't really afraid.

"What if I can't control it and set the ship on fire?" Ace asked nervously.

Thatch shrugged and said, "Then keep a fire extinguisher with you."

"What if I burn Marco?" he asked in worry. Thatch clapped him on the shoulder with a smile.

"Phoenix, remember? He won't be hurt by fire. I think he'd find it awesome if you have flame powers. Then you both could make purple flames, since his are blue. You don't have to eat it now, but just think about it. Why don't you go hide it in your room?" the chef suggested. Ace nodded and left to hide it in his dresser. When he looked at it, he thought that Thatch made a good point, and maybe Marco would worry about him less if he couldn't be shot at or stabbed.

He entered his room and pulled the bottom drawer of the dresser out to hide the fruit underneath it, replacing it once again and leaving the room. Purple flames? He blushed at it, even with no one around.

Ace headed back to the kitchen to help with the apple pie. While he helped clean up, he considered eating the fruit more, and was leaning towards doing so. As long as he didn't burn anything, it could be helpful. He just hoped he wouldn't burn any fabric he was working on. Though he knew he could control it someday. He had always been able to control his powers easily, but he was born with those. Maybe a devil fruit would be a lot different.

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**Ace is a bit overpowered in this fic, but it's a lot different from other OP characters. Look forward to it!**


	12. Taking a Big Step

**N0dusT0llens: Thank you! Ace is pretty over powered in this fic. Even more so later!**

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**Okay, this chapter is way too long but I don't want to mess up all of the chapter numbers. It's over 10,000 words! Today is my last day of class! I'm so happy it's over. I had a dream I got -100 on the final since I turned it in incomplete. My last day of my last class of college... I'm sad but happy at the same time. Anyways, there is no smut in this story, so the part in this chapter is just for entertainment. I posted a couple new stories since the last update. I feel like I say that every chapter. Enjoy~**

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Marco was irate for the last half of the trip back to the ship. He wanted it to go faster, wanting to see Ace already. He hadn't realized how calm it was after having Ace around to be with. When he was away, he was irate and a bit snappy, though he didn't mean to be. Ace was not like a drug to him, he was more like an addicting, nice, warm tea that made all of his problems seem small and insignificant.

And it seemed that being around Ace made him more patient and calm with others. He hadn't even noticed the change until it was taken away. He hoped everything was okay back at home, and that no one was making Ace upset while he was gone. Though Marco trusted Ace's division and Thatch to help him out if he was feeling sad.

Marco was worried Ace didn't miss him, and grew nervous when they approached the ship. Would Ace be out there to greet him? He was who Marco was missing the most over the last few weeks. But, when the ship got closer and everyone started pulling it up, Marco saw Ace's blue face peek over the side of the ship with a grin. Marco's silly worries floated away.

He climbed the ladder quickly and made his way to Ace, hugging him tightly and spinning him around. "Did you miss me?" he asked with a grin. The sayla nodded, and Marco said he missed him, too. Marco put his forehead against Ace's, and Ace sighed at the nice feeling. Marco knew he liked doing this more than hugging, but hugging was easier to do casually.

Marco didn't know what Ace would think of kissing, but he hadn't made a move towards that yet. "Anyone been mean to you while I was gone?"

"No more than usual, don't worry," Ace said casually. Marco took Ace's hand, and didn't care much with the pirates watching. Marco headed to the captain to give his report, before Ace stopped him.

"Guess what I found?" Ace asked with a cheeky grin. Marco raised his eyebrows in question before Ace burst into flames. Marco panicked for a second before seeing Ace was perfectly fine and not burning to death. "A devil fruit. An apple turned into it in the storage room. And I haven't burned anyone or anything important!"

Marco covered his hand in his own flames, and they mixed with Ace's to form the purple color of a sunset. Marco loved it. He kissed Ace's extremely warm hand, the flames not hurting at all, and they seeped back into Ace's blue skin. The orange was striking against the blue. Complimentary colors, and Marco thought Ace would look good in orange.

Ace walked with Marco to Whitebeard, before moving a bit away for privacy, and looking over the railing. Marco knew Ace could listen in anywhere if he wanted to, but Ace respected privacy quite a bit and didn't eavesdrop on anyone. He would never violate someone's privacy like that. He was too respectful to do something like that.

"We took care of the problem, and the protected island is safe again. They burned down the flag, so we put a replacement back up on the flagpole. It was quick and easy. There are no remains and we burned down their ship. I don't think any more pirates will be attacking that island for now," Marco explained. The mission had been to take out an arrogant rookie crew that claimed that they now owned a Whitebeard island. It was their mistake, and they paid for it with their lives. No one messes with a yonko's territory unless you want to die a painful and humiliating death.

"I'll write up a report soon. We have one injury, but it has been treated. Whiskey should still take a look at it for now, though," Marco added. Whitebeard nodded, and welcomed Marco back.

The yonko looked to the side at Ace. "That brat sure is a unique one. He's controlled the flames almost perfectly, hasn't burned anyone or anything of importance. He'd even been able to do his duties without damaging any of the supplies." Marco smiled proudly. He headed to Ace, and stood next to him, putting his hand on Ace's on the railing.

"Tell me how you've been," Marco said with a smile.

"Only if you tell me about your mission afterwards," Ace replied.

"Deal."

Ace passed out halfway through the conversation, and Marco caught him before he hit the deck. Though it probably wouldn't have hurt him anymore due to being a logia. What were the odds of both of them having flame fruits? It's like the universe made it happen. Marco carried Ace inside, so nice and warm in his arms, and to the library to Ace's favorite couch. His notebooks were there, and Marco noticed that there were sheets of paper sticking out of them, probably meaning that Ace had filled them up already.

Marco sat down on the couch and maneuvered Ace's head to be in his lap, while the older man ran his fingers through Ace's soft hair. He combed the hair back gently, showing the parts of Ace's face that were usually hidden. Marco chuckled quietly when he saw Ace's ears had some freckles, too. He wondered just how many were on his body. He'd seen him shirtless when he first came and the bandages were being put on, so he knew there were many on his back before he was bandaged and they were hidden from sight.

Ace was sleeping so peacefully, his breathing slower when he was asleep. Even though it was still quick and his heartbeat was rapid, he was so much more relaxed while unconscious. Marco ran his hand along Ace's jaw, knowing he was too out of it to wake up. Ace's neck caught on fire and Marco's blue flames were drawn out and mixed with Ace's soft ones. Marco was surprised, as he'd not have his power out of his control in decades.

Ace's fire died down quickly and Marco's flames disappeared as well. The sayla's new flames did not hurt Marco, of course, but were more like a soft, warm blanket. Marco put his hand over Ace's second and only heart, feeling the rapid beating. He was glad no health problems had been too bad from the risky surgery that he would have thought was impossible to perform.

But Ace had wanted to live, and his body showed that while the surgery was going on. Ace hadn't woken up, but his body hadn't protested at all.

Suddenly, Marco felt a pull from inside of him, going to Ace. A trill in his mind, and Marco hadn't felt this for a long time. Before he'd mastered his devil fruit, the phoenix inside him had been demanding and a handful, wanting things on it's own.

He felt the same feeling, and knew that the zoan wanted to be closer to Ace's fire, closer to Ace. it was a strange feeling, but wasn't uncomfortable since Marco agreed with it.

He eventually woke up to see Marco above him. "Sorry, I fell asleep," he said uncomfortably, before sitting up.

"Not your fault," Marco replied. He glanced down at the sketchbooks. "Did you fill them all up?" Ace nodded.

"I've had to add in paper, but it just makes them look messy. I need to buy a new one, now that I have some more money from commissions," Ace replied honestly. "I also would like some quality pencils to draw with. Namur offered to give me some pens from navigation, but those are needed so I didn't accept them. It was nice of him to offer, though." Marco nodded in agreement. Namur had accepted Ace from the beginning due to the similarities in their situations. Not for him as a person but because he sympathized with the sayla.

"I didn't know you had freckles on your ears," Marco commented suddenly. Ace replied that they were everywhere. Marco may have blushed at that, he couldn't help it, but Ace didn't notice. Marco really wondered if Ace meant _everywhere _everywhere.

Ace told Marco about his project to make a kimono for Izo that had his world's creatures on it. Marco looked forward to seeing the final project. "Ace, can you bring out your flames again?" Marco asked. "I want to see something." Ace nodded, curiosity in his eyes when he lit one hind on fire. Marco covered his in it as well, and put in near to Ace's, but not close enough to touch.

The phoenix grinned when Ace's fire reached for Marco's as Marco's reached for Ace's. "Looks like our flames like one another."

"That's kind of weird. Maybe it was meant to be or something," Ace said casually, making Marco beam, hoping he meant that. Did Ace like him back now, too? He was nervous to ask, but it would bother him if he didn't. He'd focus on it until he knew, and he didn't wish to be stressed about it. He needed to know.

"Ace, do you care for me like I care for you, now?" Marco asked, nervousness in his voice. Ace heard the tone and smiled, putting a hand on Marco's cheek.

"I think so," was his reply. Marco grinned and hugged Ace, his hand in Ace's hair and holding his face into Marco's neck, since the human was taller than Ace by many inches. Ace's "I think so" was close enough for now. After all, Marco did not want to force anything, and knowing that he made Ace feel at least somewhat the same by being himself made him very happy.

The human kissed Ace's head softly. "I'm very glad," he confessed. "I was worried there, for a while." The phoenix felt happy as Marco hugged Ace. Ace wrapped his arms around Marco back. It was like being enveloped by something soft, and he felt the phoenix relax inside, happy. Marco wondered if this would become a problem, his phoenix acting up on its own, though Marco was glad it was in agreement with loving Ace.

"Don't worry. Worrying doesn't get you anywhere," Ace said quietly.

"But you worry a lot," Marco pointed out.

"Doesn't mean I should."

"Good point."

The rest of the day, Marco and Ace were together everywhere. Even when Marco was doing paperwork in his office, Ace was lounging on the comfy chair, either reading or sleeping. The problem was that the phoenix, every time Ace was near, felt like it was pestering Marco to touch him, hold him. Marco mentally scolded it and told it to be patient, that he was busy and would be with Ace later.

He began to get annoyed, extremely annoyed when his flames started to act up. He sighed, and asked Ace if he could bring the chair closer to the desk. Ace was curious but did so. He was a bit surprised when Marco's flames automatically jumped to Ace, latching onto his arm. "What?"

Marco sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know how I have the phoenix zoan?" Ace nodded. "It used to act up on its own, wanting to go places, do things, things I didn't want to do. It brought out the flames at inopportune times and was like that until I mastered it completely, when I can control it. But… after it touched your fire… it keeps wanting to go to you."

Ace snickered, making Marco's face flame, until Ace touched his hand on the arm Marco wasn't using while writing. "That better?"

"Much." His phoenix behaved after that, dying down until he couldn't feel it anymore. When Ace had to go to the bathroom and said he'd be back in a bit, the phoenix stayed asleep it seemed. Ace came back ten minutes later, and resumed his spot next to Marco. He wasn't paying attention to Marco's work, which he was thankfully almost done with, and instead was doodling on a piece of paper. Marco couldn't help but glance at it and saw it was a flaming bird.

Immaturely, he felt the phoenix coo inside. Marco scoffed quietly. Stupid bird. He glanced every now and then at the drawing, which was quite good. Ace had improved a lot since the beginning. Ace learned quickly by doing things hands on. Like the sewing, and drawing and had started to be able to control his flames. He may still burst into fire at dinner, but nothing caught on fire.

When they both headed to dinner, Marco's paperwork finished, the drawing of a phoenix pinned to the wall next to the porthole, they were both holding hands. Marco and Ace sat at the commanders' table, and throughout the meal, Marco's flames kept inching away from him and onto his partner next to him, who thought it was entertaining. The others found it strange, except for Thatch and Whitebeard. They recognized when the phoenix was acting up, and hadn't seen it happen in a long time.

Marco knew they could assume it was the bird inside of him wanting to touch Ace, and they found it hilarious as well, both chuckling every time, Marco grumbling about it. But Ace didn't dislike it, as it didn't hurt or feel much more than something soft running across his blue and white speckled shoulder.

The first mate was so glad Ace didn't find it wrong or weird, and went along with it just fine. He probably understood Marco had no control over it, and so he wasn't bothered. It didn't do much besides linger on him, and it was completely harmless, so he wasn't bothered. Someone less kind and understanding than Ace might not like it, but the sayla really didn't seem to mind.

When Ace got up to put his plate away and refill his lemonade, Marco's flames stretched several feet after Ace before dying down and calming. Thatch burst into laughter. Some commanders had already left. Marco glowered at Thatch, embarrassed.

"Looks like the phoenix is pretty fond of Ace," he said with a sly voice and a smirk. Whitebeard laughed heartily when Ace returned and much of Marco's flames latched onto the sayla.

"I can't do anything about it, but It'll have to learn I can't spend every single moment with him," Marco replied. Ace had easily heard the short conversation, so didn't need to ask what they were talking about. The phoenix inside grew angry at Marco's words, and he scolded the bird mentally for being immature and needing to grow up. That he wasn't in a child's body anymore and needed to realize that Ace was not going to be with him all day, every day.

It was quite ridiculous.

Going to bed was an absolute _nightmare. _He was on fire the entire time he was trying to sleep. A constant itching feeling was there, and Marco started openly swearing aloud at the stupid bird that needed to grow up. That Ace wasn't property that he could just carry around all day. They may be partners, but Ace had his own responsibilities and that Marco would not make him stay with him all day just because the phoenix wanted to.

It made the bird angry, so Marco finally left the room to go into the infirmary and get some sleeping pills they knew worked on him. He took three, instead of two. It wouldn't make him ill, and would hopefully help. The commander headed back to his room to take the pills and crawl under the sheets. It worked, and Marco was asleep. Finally.

-x-

Ace noticed that Marco was stressed the next day, constantly having a look of annoyance on his face, though not at Ace. Marco told him that his phoenix was acting up and that it was uncomfortable and frustrating. And Ace comforting him seemed to be both good and bad. Especially when it was physical affection and comforting. Marco hugged him back, or touched foreheads, and though it made Marco feel better, the phoenix liked it, too.

Finally, Ace stood in front of Marco with his hands on his hips. "Phoenix, stop bothering Marco. I'll be with him when I can, but you're only upsetting him. Wouldn't that make him angry? And he might get angry at me. Do you want to be responsible for making me upset?" Ace asked in a surprisingly harsh voice.

The flames that had been reaching for Ace died down. The sayla walked forward and put his hand on Marco's chest. "I'm not going anywhere where Marco can't find me. Be patient and please behave," he finished softly. The flames disappeared completely, and Marco smiled.

"Thanks, Ace," the first mate said in a relieved voice. "It's better now." Ace smiled brightly, glad he was able to help. When Ace wasn't doing his job or napping, he saw that Marco was in a much better mood than he had been in the morning. His phoenix was behaving again, and Ace was very happy he had been able to help.

It was sweet how much that a part of Marco loved Ace, but he didn't want Marco to be constantly uncomfortable. It was like the bird part craved Ace. it was a bit strange, but Ace knew that Marco would not hoard Ace and his freedom, which was why he was battling with his phoenix part, to give Ace space. And he was grateful for that.

He knew the phoenix would never hurt him, so he didn't worry about it retaliating in a way to Ace's harsh words. "I'm going to go take a bath," Ace announced. He was able to use the infirmary bathroom since he wasn't comfortable being naked in front of any of the pirates, even Marco, who he was closest to. Not even Thatch. The nurses and captain were aware of the discomfort and did nothing to stop Ace using the secluded bathroom. He was grateful for it.

Ace kissed Marco's cheek before heading to his room to get a change of clothes and then going to the infirmary bathroom. When he got to the bathroom, he closed and locked the door, giving the bathhouse to himself. He still didn't know human anatomy, so he had no idea if he looked anything similar to the humans. Their faces and humanoid shapes may be incredibly similar, but he had had two hearts, many more blood vessels and was born with powers. Humans, as far as he knew, had one heart, and were not born with abilities. Who was to say that their reproductive parts weren't completely different as well?

Ace sat in the water, aware now that he had to stay in the shallow part now that he had a devil fruit. When he stepped into the tub, steam billowed out, but soon faded. He was still unable to completely control his body temperature, but the only person he touched less casually was Marco and he couldn't be burned, thankfully.

He was lethargic in the water, but washed himself just fine, if not very slowly. He unfortunately passed out, and slept over the side of the tub for around fifteen minutes before waking up, his back hurting a bit, but he got out fine. It was lucky he didn't drown. He dried himself off and stared at himself in the wall mirror.

Looking at his body, he thought about the fact that Marco had never been with another species, he wouldn't be used to being with someone with completely different genitalia. While Ace believed Marco wasn't looking for sex in this relationship, he may eventualy want to. And Ace might be completely incompatible with Marco, and not just because they were both male.

He turned from the mirror and saldy put his clothes on, feeling down and not very confident. Something he hadn't felt for weeks. The feeling of being unwelcome, _different. _He couldn't do anything to change his body, like he could change his skin color. There was nothing he could do about it, so he tried not to think about it.

He headed back to where he was supposed to be, the fabrics room to fix his share of damaged clothing or blankets. His friends noticed how quiet he was, and some came over and sat down. He was completely focused on himself and what he was doing, so he didn't notice them until they spoke.

"You okay, Ace?" Mika asked, and Ace nodded silently. "Did someone make you feel upset?"

"It's nothing, really. No one made me upset," Ace replied quietly. He couldn't talk to him about something so personal. And he didn't want to awkwardly ask what was between a human's legs. It would be weird, no doubt. The pirate humans may be fine bathing together, but Ace couldn't help but think they'd think it was weird. "Promise. I'm fine."

They nodded, but sat next to him to do their own work. Ace was sitting on one of the cushions on the floor, where many of the sixteenth division worked. They were quiet as they worked, too focused in their own world or on what they were working on. Ace was both.

Maybe he'd sneak into the infirmary and swipe a book about human anatomy. Yeah, he'd do that tonight once everyone was asleep. Having a plan now, he worked more efficiently, fixing his share of clothing for that day, since he organized a certain minimum amount to do each day, and putting it in the pile to be washed. The ninth division was in charge of washing dirty clothes, towels and blankets.

Ace said goodnight to Marco on his way to his room, where he'd wait until he thought everyone was asleep. He was nervous, thinking he was going to break some rules going into the infirmary at night, even though there were no such rules that he'd heard of. Probably because most of them avoided the infirmary like the plague.

He waited, sitting on the bed for a while before he could hear everyone was asleep, extending his hearing out to the whole ship. He could only hear those out on deck with watch duty that night. He put socks on and silenced himself as he snuck down the halls, looking more than suspicious, but he made it to the double doors of the infirmary and looked through the window to see the lights all off and no nurses in sight. It was midnight by then.

Ace was tired, but it was bothering him all day and he needed to know. Not just for anything that happened with Marco, but he wanted to know just how alike humans were to him. He silenced the room as well, the door slamming shut without a sound. He turned on the little flashlight he'd gotten from one of the emergency cupboards stationed around the ship.

He went to the bookshelf and looked at the spines of the books, so glad the chip in his head made him able to read human language. Well, translate it for him. Since everything was quiet, Ace didn't hear someone walk into the room. The lights were turned on and Ace jumped, whirling around and unmuting the room.

"Mind telling me what you're doing sneaking around at night, Ace?" Whiskey asked, in her night clothes. Cotton pants and a tank top. Ace looked afraid, wondering what punishment he'd get. "Are you looking for something? You could have just asked." Ace's face turned a dark blue. "What, is it something embarrassing?"

Ace nodded. Whiskey asked what it was, and that she'd tell no one about this if Ace didn't want her to. He looked incredibly embarrassed. "A book on human anatomy?" he questioned quietly.

Whiskey blinked. "That's all?" Ace nodded. Whiskey walked past him and to the bookshelf and pulled out six books, all thick. "Male anatomy?" she guessed, and Ace nodded awkwardly. She sorted through the books and took out one only on male anatomy. The nurse handed it to him. "See? Wasn't that easy? Make sure you don't damage the book and bring it back tomorrow. I trust you to be careful with our books." She gave him a sly look, probably understanding why he was looking, and his face burned uncomfortably.

"Th-thanks," he said.

"If you want some lessons on male _things _that definitely aren't in that book, I'll explain," she said with a giggle.

Ace nodded and fled the room, very embarrassed. He sprinted soundlessly to his room and then shut and locked the door, burying his face in the pillow. "Ugh…" he grumbled. Whiskey better not say anything to anybody, especially not Thatch or Marco. Thatch would probably think it was hilarious and Ace didn't know what Marco would think.

He opened the book, and skimmed through the pages, not really caring about how humans reproduce. He skipped through most of the book before coming to the diagrams he was looking at. He found what he was looking for, and went to bed somewhat relieved an hour later. He would only get a couple more hours of sleep, but he wasn't a big sleeper in the first place.

Ace brought the book back in the early morning, sheepishly entering the room and placing the book back on the shelf where it had been taken the night before. "Did you find what you were looking for in the book?" Whiskey asked, looking highly amused but also sympathetic with Ace's discomfort. He nodded, but didn't make eye contact.

"If you ever want to ask me something, go ahead. I'm not squeamish about such things." She knew why Ace had looked at the book, but he definielty wasn't comfortable asking her how sex worked for human men, if they even could. Most interspecies relationships Ace had seen were not like Ace and Marco, whose bodies were quite similar outwardly. Most of the different planets had completely different looking beings, so bodies were completely incompatiable. That's why sex was not a big thing in society, since so many were unable to take part with their partner.

"Okay. Thanks Whiskey," Ace said quietly, still not looking at her.

"I promise I won't tell anyone else about your curiosity. You can trust me," she replied softly, kindly, sensing and understanding Ace's embarrassment at getting caught. He thanked her again before leaving, heading to his room to change out of his pjs and into that day's outfit, shorts and a tank top, like usual. With the nice boots he was made. Seeing his division members make shoes had been fascinating, and he knew he would probably not be one of them.

Ace walked to the galley, still a little dark on the cheeks. It had been 20 minutes and still Ace felt embarrassed. And he'd gone through so much trouble to be sneaky and not risk humiliation. He sat at the bar counter, like usual. But he put his head down with a sigh, resting his warm cheek on the cool granite countertop.

"You okay?" Thatch asked in worry. Ace nodded, rubbing his freckled cheek along the counter, not even lifting his head. "You sure?" The sayla nodded a second time. Thatch didn't believe him. "Just, something embarrassing. I don't want to talk about it." He didn't apologize, and it had Thatch grinning.

"Good Acey-chan. Don't apologize for saying no," Thatch replied happily. Ace didn't understand 'Acey-chan'. He made a confused face, and Thatch just said to forget about it. It was a human thing. The sayla wasn't bothered, and just nodded his head, devouring the first plate handed to him, french toast with powdered sugar dusted on the top. He devoured it, loving it like usual.

The rest of the crew trickled in for breakfast, taking the food off of the counter. Ace sat out of the way of the buffet as people served themselves. He was eating his own food, cheeks full of scrambled egg. Marco walked in, yawning tiredly. Usually he was well rested, and Ace had a feeling his phoenix was probably bugging him again. Especially when he walked over and his fire latched onto Ace like something sticky, stretching a few feet while Marco served his own food and the two went to their table.

"Did you sleep okay?" Ace wondered. Marco sighed and shook his head. "The phoenix again?" the sayla asked in sympathy, rubbing Marco's back. The man nodded with a sigh.

"I feel like a kid again, unable to control the little shit," Marco said. "It really likes you, and no matter how many times I tell it that we'll see you the next day, it doesn't like letting me sleep. It's frustrating," the first commander confessed. "It sucks."

Ace frowned for him. "Maybe we can take naps sometimes so your phoenix will rest when I'm around. I'll take some naps with you later today. That sound good?" he offered with a smile. Marco smiled back at him, and said that sounded like a good idea.

Marco asked, "How did you sleep?" Ace pursed his lips for a second too long, and said, "Okay, I guess. I don't want to talk about it." Marco was surprised at the answer, but didn't pry or pressure Ace to talk to him if he didn't want to.

They were docking at an island in two days, and the commanders had already started getting things together. It was a protected island, and a winter one, where they'd be spending Christmas. Ace, of course, had never had a Christmas, so he wasn't sure what to think it was. No one would explain it, just that it would be fun and he would enjoy it.

Not knowing what it was made the rest of the day confusing, with pirates setting up Christmas decorations, stars, different types of plants, fairy lights. He was the only one not excited, as he still didn't know what it was. They explained to him that it was a time of giving presents and eating good food. Ace thought they ate good food all the time, but he did wonder about the gifts. How did they give gifts to 1600 people without going bankrupt?

When he asked, he was told everyone picks a partner to get a present for, and that there was a spending limit that each had so they didn't overspend and risk being broke. They'd never been before but it was a good thing to do.

Marco chose Ace to get a present for, but the sayla had no idea what to get? What would be meaningful? He didn't want to get some random nicknack of some sort, but he didn't know what he should look for in the first place. The island they were on would be where they searched for presents, since it had a big town, the reason they were spending Christmas there.

Ace had been thinking about another thing for the last couple of days. Even if some of the crew gave him nasty looks, they were the minority by now. He felt welcome and comfortable. Not quite home, but not someplace he didn't want to be with all his heart. He still didn't see them as family, though he had many friends and a partner who loved him despite him being different.

Maybe it was time to make it official. It had been over a month by now, plus the time he spent before he joined. He knew most of his division by their names, even if he didn't go out of his way to be with some of them. And he didn't mind his job, it was relaxing and soothing to do. He wasn't forced to fight, and had gone inside for the last pirate attack. They were weak, so they didn't need any help in the first place.

Ace spent much of the day distracted, trying to come up with the tattoo he wanted to get, and where. He liked the mark that wasn't Marco's, but he didn't want a boring design. He wanted something meaningful, a way to carry his old life around as a memory, that he couldn't see but knew was there. Every break he had, he drew sketches in his notebook, and finally settled on one he worked two hours on. Marco was there, but Ace had asked him not to look, so he didn't. Marco was good about not looking at Ace's drawings even though the sayla knew he wanted to.

The design was done, shaded a dark color on the inside with the planets from the solar system inside the lines, and his freckles were stars that were connected by straight lines like constellations. It would be a lot of work, but would be visible on his darker blue skin, and definitely on human colors.

He knew everyone would be happy about it, even if he still wasn't joining them as family. They were good friends, but he really felt like he'd betray his brothers' memory by getting new ones, related or not. It may just be a word, but the pirates meant it when they called each other family. And Ace would rather just have a captain than a father. It was nothing done on Whitebeard's fault, just Ace's background.

When they landed on the island, decorations were already up and everywhere, with the whole mast looking like a christmas tree, which was just a tree that you decorate for the holiday. There was no resupplying the first day, it was all about shopping for gifts and wrapping paper.

Ace went with Izo, since Marco was going to be getting him a present and didn't want to spoil it, not that Ace would really mind a spoil. It would still probably make him happy even if he knew what it was beforehand. Izo was buying for Thatch, and so Ace offered to go and help look.

Izo went into a cooking store, not a surprise to Ace, and looked at kitchen decorations, not supplies since Thatch had basically everything under the sun to cook with. Ace looked around curiously, recognizing many of the objects from the Whitebeard's kitchen. Izo eventually got a huge frame that would be above the sink, saying he was going to put the picture of the family up on it.

It would have Ace on it, looking a bit awkward, since they retook the family photo everytime someone joined the crew, that person in the front. He also got a magnet that attached to the wall and was able to put knives on it instead of searching through drawers, though Thatch knew his kitchen inside and out and wouldn't lose anything. It was mostly for convenience.

"Do you want to go get Marco's present? What were you thinking of getting?" Izo questioned, carrying the bags.

Ace blushed a little bit and scratched his human-colored cheek. "It's something I made. It's kinda for everyone, really," Ace replied. It clearly caught his commander's attention. Mika had made it clear that Izo didn't spend time with individual members like he did with Ace.

"Well, I look forward to seeing it. I won't tell anyone else or they'll pester you," the okama said, and Ace thanked him. When they headed back to the ship, pirates were heading inside with bags of presents. Then, the wrapping process began and there were hundred of empty cardboard rolls once all of the paper was used. There were also hundreds of bags and thousands of pieces of tissue paper.

By the time dinner was ready, two storage rooms were full of presents. Ace wondered if everyone took turns opening presents, or if they did it in groups, or if everyone just acted like kids and ripped theirs apart. Doing it individually would take forever, since there were 1601 people on the crew. Ace broke the nice and neat number.

Ace was the only one who hadn't wrapped anything, and those around him were curious as to why. If they asked, Ace replied that his present couldn't be wrapped. It was enough to drop the topic, though many were curious.

-x-

Marco was excited to spend Ace's first christmas together. They wouldn't be going off the ship, since the party lasted all day and the presents were only opened once it was late enough to see the fairy lights all over the ship. When Marco explained what Christmas was to Ace, he had seemed interested but confused, and Marco had asked if sayla gived gifts.

"Not really, not on a specific day. For birthdays, close family might give gifts, but that's it. There's no set day for stuff like that," he replied, sipping his hot chocolate in the library, nice and quiet around the two. "You don't have to get me a gift," he'd added, sincerely not minding.

"I want to," Marco had said back. "But I have no idea what to get you. I'll wing it when we go shopping once we land on the island. There are no marine bases on it, so we'll be uninterrupted. Most likely."

Ace gave him a smile that made Marco's heart and the phoenix flutter. He was so in love with Ace it was almost ridiculous.

For Christmas day, Ace seemed a bit lost. He didn't feel the same about the holiday than everyone else did, and it was to be expected. It was Ace's first one, and while everyone was excited about presents and the food, Ace didn't really want a present and thought the food was wonderful every day. He didn't want a present but he didn't not want one. He would be just fine either way.

Thatch tried to get him in the spirit by dressing him up in an ugly sweater and a santa's hat that was too big for Ace's head and kept falling over his eyes. It was adorable, and he looked so young with that hat on. Marco was glad Ace didn't hate the hat, or his present wouldn't be a good one.

Marco saved Ace when Thatch was trying to teach him Christmas songs, but Ace was embarrassed to sing in front of others, even though he'd said he wanted to be a singer as a career second to exploring. Marco hoped someday Ace would feel comfortable enough to sing. At a later time, he said that his songs he knew and liked wouldn't make sense to humans, as he would have to use his own language.

For some reason, music didn't translate through Ace's chip. "It's a flaw, but it's not like we don't like hearing other language's singing that we don't recognize."

So, everyone were sat in groups around the deck, exchanging gifts. There were cheers loudly, with people liking their gifts. Marco looked around to see what kind of thing everyone got, and he was curious about the bigger gifts, but was even more so about Ace's gift that was too small to be wrapped.

"So, I saw this at the store and thought that it would look nice on you, and compliment your skin color," he said nervously, and handed Ace the box that he unwrapped perfectly, in striking comparison to all of the ripped up wrapping paper littered across the deck. It was an orange cowboy hat with some unique garments on it. Ace looked at it curiously before sticking it on his head.

"How do I look?" he asked. Marco smiled. It brought out Ace's skin color even more and it matched with the orange flecks in his golden eyes.

"Good. It makes your skin and eyes pop," Marco said, very glad that it didn't look horrible. They were sitting with Thatch and Izo, who had opened their presents immediately and Izo was helping Thatch a copy of the most recent family portrait inside the large frame. Thatch had gotten Izo an incredibly rare and expensive kimono that he'd gotten on a previous island and was just hoarding it until Christmas.

Ace looked shy about his gift and pulled a rolled up piece of paper from one of his big shorts pockets. "I didn't know what to get, and this isn't _technically _for you, but I thought it would make you happy," the sayla said. Marco smiled, wondering what it was. Even if it wasn't something he'd like, Marco would still appreciate it as Ace's first Christmas gift. He was expecting a drawing of himself or something else he liked, but was surprised when he unrolled it.

The first thing he noticed was that it was the jolly roger, and then noticed all of the intricate details. It was measured neatly and in perfect proportion. It was Pops' mark, and it was beautiful with the galaxy and detailed planets inside the outline of the mark. It was different than any of the others' as it was a silhouette mostly, since most of it was a black and very dark blue, with the white mustache striking in comparison and it was dotted with speckles that were connected by thin lines.

It was gorgeous. "Really? You're going to get it?" he asked with a grin. Ace nodded.

"On my back," he replied. "Do you like it? I know it's not for you specifically, but I didn't know what else to get and have been thinking about it for a while. I… I still don't want to be called family, but I am part of the crew now, and I feel welcome, so I thought it was time to do it."

"I love it. It's beautiful, and I'm sure Izo can pull it off. But, what about your shirt covering it?" Marco asked, looking back down at the artwork that would eventually be on Ace's beautiful skin.

Ace shrugged. "I just won't wear a shirt. Besides, I'm made of fire now, so I won't be cold," he answered. Marco and his phoenix very much looked forward to seeing Ace shirtless all the time. Marco leaned over and kissed Ace's cheek gently. He really liked the present, and being the first to see it.

Thatch leaned over, as the photo was snugly in the frame and set down with Izo's new kimono on top. "What is it?"

"Ace is going to get the mark. This is his drawing he wants made." Thatch pumped both fists in the air like a child. He looked at the drawing and whistled. Izo looked over, and his eyes widened. "Think you can pull it off?" Marco asked the tattooist.

He frowned at Marco. "Of course I can, who do you think I am?" he asked in a tight voice. Then he turned to Ace, and said, "It's a beautiful piece. I look forward to working with it. It'll take multiple sessions, though. Did you have tattoos on your home planet?" Ace nodded.

The sayla looked sheepish again. "I also wanted to get a second tattoo. On my upper arm, a tribute tattoo for my brothers. I wasn't old enough at home to get one," he explained. "An uppercase ASL, but it will be in my own language. No one will know what it is but me, but that's fine. It is each of our first initial of our first names," Ace added.

Izo nodded. "I would be glad to help you with a tribute to your brothers." Ace thanked him and Marco put his arm around Ace's shoulder. The new hat fell off, but it had a string that would catch itself if it fell backwards.

The party continued, and Ace passed out against Marco when the drinks were finally coming out. Marco positioned Ace in his lap, leaning against his chest. He was so nice and warm, and Marco wondered if he'd make the bed hot if they ever went to sleep together. The phoenix, who had been relatively behaving itself cooed at the thought of going to bed with Ace, able to touch him all night if he allowed Marco to.

"He's such a sweetheart. Don't mess this up, Marco," Izo said sternly when Ace passed out. Marco's phoenix bristled at the words, and Marco agreed. He'd never do anything to make Ace regret being with him. Ace was one of the few things in his entire life that changed him drastically. Meeting Pops, his first brother, and then realizing he loved Ace, even when it was unrequited.

"Never," Marco replied. He didn't drink as long as Ace was awake since he hated the smell of alcohol and Marco wouldn't drink it right above his head. The tattoo design was in the back of the photo frame to keep it safe and not mistaken as trash when they inevitably cleaned up the mess of a deck. They'd end up burning the paper, even the pieces that Ace so kindly kept neat and intact.

Having Ace would make that easier, instead of building a bonfire they could just have Ace torch the remains. He woke up after about fifteen minutes, and apologized for falling asleep, even though Marco made it clear he wasn't irritated. He'd stopped trying to correct Ace, having a feeling it wouldn't change, and now just replied that it was fine and he did nothing wrong.

The drinks flowed the rest of the night, and since Marco was unable to get overly intoxicated, he left a couple of times to get Ace some lemonade since he didn't drink any of the alcohol being served and passed around.

Marco was so happy Ace liked the hat. It had been bought on impulse, thinking Ace would look good in it, even if it clashed with his skin. The phoenix zoan was first to admit the design was a little strange, but Ace liked it and that was all that mattered.

It was midnight by the time Ace said he was heading to bed. Marco stood and took the drawing out of the frame, Izo and Thatch both passed out, with Izo somehow still looking put together when he was draped over Thatch in what looked like an uncomfortable position.

Marco walked Ace to his room, and put the tattoo design on the bed stand. Pops hadn't seen it, and Marco was planning on spending the rest of the night with his father. He knew that Ace went to bed earlier than most on the crew, especially during parties, even when it was his own welcome party.

When they were in the doorway, Marco looked up and scoffed. Someone had hung mistletoe in Ace's door way. Marco would bet anything there was one in his doorway as well. Ace looked up wondering what Marco had scoffed at. "What is it?" Marco pointed up, but Ace didn't understand.

"A human tradition is to kiss whoever is nearest if you're under mistletoe, the plant," the first mate explained.

"I don't want to kiss you because some plant said so," Ace said simply and honestly. Marco chuckled, and agreed. He would never have his first kiss with Ace because something _told _them to. Yes, Marco wanted to kiss him, feel Ace's soft and warm lips against him. He'd touched Ace's lips before, so he knew how soft and supple they were. They just hadn't kissed yet. They were both taking it slowly.

Ace walked to him and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow morning," he said with a soft smile.

"Sleep well. Maybe silence the room since the party will go on for a while and is heard throughout the ship," the commander suggested. Ace nodded, probably already planning on doing so. He rarely used his hearing powers as he was against invading privacy, and had nothing to blow up with a soundwave. Not since that first ship, back when Ace could still run and jump without becoming winded and basically immobile while he attempted to catch his breath.

Marco was smiling on his way back to the deck, where many of his brothers were passed out. Some of the Christmas decorations had fallen from the yardarm where Ace and Marco had worked to set up the icicles. He waded through the wave of drunk or unconscious pirates until he reached the giant chair.

He jumped up to Pops' shoulder. "Hello son. How was Ace's first Christmas?"

Marco took a sip of his drink, and smiled. "Pretty good. He still doesn't seem to be in the spirit, but it's to be expected. He liked my gift, so that's a relief. And I have some good news for you, too." When Whitebeard looked questioning, Marco beamed. "Ace's present for me was the preview of his jolly roger tattoo. He's gonna take the mark. Designed it himself and everything."

"Gurarara! About time for that brat!" Marco laughed at Whitebeard's joy.

"He says he still doesn't want to be called son or brother, but he said he feels home and welcome here enough to finally take the mark. It's good enough for now."

Whitebeard didn't seem upset, a little sad, but also not really expecting Ace to want to be family yet. The sayla had some issues he needed to work out to be able to accept being in another family. And they would wait patiently for that day. "That is indeed true. I am happy he has decided to take the mark. What does it look like?" He was probably wondering which version it would be, the one Marco had or one of the jolly roger itself.

"It's in the form of the first mark that matches our flag, but Izo has his work cut out for him with how damn detailed Ace wants it. He basically wants his solar system inside of the outline of your mark. He wants to carry around a piece of his home, even if he can never go back," Marco explained, voice fond but also tinged with sadness for Ace and how he missed his home, even if it was better now than it had been before.

Whitebeard hummed. "Sounds like it will be quite the sight." Marco nodded in agreement, downing the rest of his tankard. "So, how are things with you and our sayla? Is everything going smoothly?"

Marco bristled, as did the phoenix inside of him. "What's the supposed to mean?" Whitebeard chuckled.

"I meant nothing negative, you just haven't been in a relationship for as long as you've been aboard this ship."

"Everything is good. Better than good in my opinion. He said he loves me back a while ago," Marco said, sounding a bit shy but immensely happy. Whitebeard grinned as well.

"That's damn good to hear. I hope he warms up to me someday. I'm not pushing it until he is fully used to the others. I don't want to make him uncomfortable. Sensitive brat he is," the captain replied.

"Is that a bad thing?"

The captain shook his head. "It's just odd to have a pirate like him, you know? Like how he had a friendly chat with the marines and returned some stolen money for them. He doesn't like to hurt or fight other people, he's maybe overly kind, emotionally sensitive, incredibly honest and open. We've never had anyone like him before. I'm not saying any of that is bad. He's just unique on this ship in many ways."

"Well, that's why I love him, so I'm glad he's like that," Marco replied. Whitebeard laughed again. They both watched as pirate after pirate fell unconscious, flopping down on the deck with thuds, drooling onto the wood and snoring. Not a very strong looking crew at the moment. It was good they were on one of their own islands or some idiot would think they couldn't fight back and would cause some trouble.

After Pops fell asleep, Marco went inside to go to his room, not really feeling like sleeping out on deck. Other pirates had stumbled to their rooms and Marco walked past more than a few rooms with his brothers hanging over the bunks or on the floor.

Marco went to bed content, even as the phoenix made its displeasure with being the only one in the bed known. "Do you want to push him away by being too fast? Ace is new to everything here. I'm going slow whether you like it or not," he said quietly to himself. He felt the fire inside of him leave slightly until the room was quiet and his mind was blissfully blank as he slipped asleep.

Two days later, and Ace was laying on his stomach, shirtless and in nothing but shorts, in the room where the tattoos were done. Izo was replicating Ace's design, drawing it onto Ace's muscled back carefully. Marco was in there, sitting in the chair next the door. Usually, Izo did the tattoo with only him and the client inside. But, Ace was nervous and it was either Marco or Thatch that stayed, and Thatch was busy.

Izo had glasses on, as he slowly and methodically copied the design. "Ace, will you turn white? It will be easier to see," Izo asked. Ace replied by changing the color of his body to a stark white, almost creepy. "A little darker. More grey." Ace did so smoothly. His back had already been disinfected, and Izo was now setting the tattoo gun up, starting with the darkest colors first.

The sea stone was put around Ace's wrist loosely, draining him of energy and making sure his form stayed solid as the needle punctured his skin to leave the mark he'd taken so much time to make. Marco had moved his chair closer to Ace's head. He and his phoenix could tell Ace was nervous, and in a bit of pain, so he held the weak hand in reassurance.

"Just relax. Izo won't mess up, your design will be flawless," Marco said soothingly. Ace nodded and tried to calm his breathing. Izo had to work even more steady than usual since Ace's body moved more due to the quicker breathing. But, he didn't mess up. Marco watched the dark ink form on Ace's skin, the outline inflamed and red. "It's going great."

Ace did not like the feeling, clearly, but he didn't complain or make any sound that he was uncomfortable. He just weakly gripped Marco's hand back while he was weakened. "This sucks," he mumbled.

Marco asked if it was the tattoo or the sea stone. "Sea stone," he replied. Marco nodded. "It does suck. Some people are kept in seastone their whole lives if they are devil fruit criminals. Though you have to get caught first for that to happen. We don't get caught, and if anyone did, the crew would be coming to get them. There for each other no matter what." Ace nodded weakly, and then rested his head on the headrest, his left cheek pressed to the table, looking at Marco with heavy eyes.

Marco watched with glee as the outline of Ace's new tattoo became clearer until the silhouette was finally there. "Ace, please turn a darker grey so I know where the freckles are," Izo said. Ace did so, and Izo circled the tiny white specks with a very thin pen to avoid those areas. He could just redo ink the white, but Ace wanted the stars to be his real freckles. He put his glasses back on, the navy blue, darker than Ace's natural skin, in the dispenser as Izo began to ink again. He was slow and methodical, and after five hours, he had the outline and a bit of the inner inking done. He was not coloring things in like usual, but layering outlines in gradually changing colors of blue and black. It really was an undertaking, but the end result would be stunning, so both commanders were looking forward to its completion.

"Well, that's it for today. Come back in two days. You're a logia, so the skin won't be as sensitive once the sea stone is gone compared to normal bodies. I'm putting this one to keep it clean, and I don't want you sleeping on your back tonight." Izo put a clear bandage along Ace's back, sticking to the skin. The sea stone was unlocked, and it was clear Ace felt much better without it.

Marco helped Ace put his shirt back on, and looked forward to not seeing the embroidered jolly rogers on Ace's shirts and instead inked onto his skin. As they walked down the hall, Ace started to slur his speech and Marco knew what to do. Ace had told Marco some of his tells before he had a sleep attack. Slurring speech, crossing eyes, mouth going a bit lax.

To not irritate the tattoo, Marco caught Ace under the arms and lifted him up so Marco was carrying him in a sitting position, Ace's chest leaning against his. If Marco weren't a strong man, Ace's weight would have made it a bit difficult. Since they were both over six feet tall, even if Ace was just barely.

Marco took him to the library, to his usual spot, and laid him down gently on his stomach. Marco watched his sleeping face with content, his phoenix irritably asking to touch Ace. "Go ahead," he said, and the flames reached out to caress Ace's black hair and soft face.

After some stern talking to his phoenix, Marco had it mostly under control now, not to come out without permission. The commander could still feel its longing whenever Ace was away, but Marco was able to manage it.

Once Christmas was over, they went back to their normal schedules, only Ace wore a new accessory most of the time, seeming to adore his new, albeit strange, hat. Marco was glad he'd gotten it on a whim and that Ace genuinely liked it, since he wasn't one to lie.

When Ace woke up, not too long after being in the library, Marco's flames slowly, unashamedly, seeped back into his skin. Ace blinked a few times, and he apologized before setting his hat back on and making a loud yawn. "How does your back feel?" Marco asked.

"It aches a little bit, but not too bad," the sayla replied. "I'm excited for it to be finished. I know it'll take a long time," he said, sounding a bit bummed that the process would take a while. "How long did yours take?" he wondered, taking Marco's hand.

Marco smiled softly. "Twelve hours, though mine is just filled in one color, not a piece of art like yours will be." Ace nodded before he started itching his wrist, discomfort growing on his face. He scratched harder. Marco took his hand gently. "What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

Ace shook his head. "I don't know, it's really itchy where the sea stone was," he replied honestly. Marco held the hand up, and saw the beginnings of hives on his wrist. Immediately, Marco was pulling Ace to the infirmary. Both of them knew he had to go there, he might have an allergic reaction to the sea stone.

Marco's hand kept Ace from scratching and they quickly entered the infirmary. Ace had to catch his breath, and Marco apologized for going too fast, not having even thought of that when he was worried over Ace.

"What are you here for?" Whiskey asked.

"Ace is having a reaction to sea stone on his wrist. He was getting his tattoo done by Izo," Marco explained. Whiskey walked over and pointed at Ace to sit on the bed. Marco let go of his hand and he could tell Ace was doing everything he could not to scratch the hives that were wrapped around his wrist.

Whiskey took a hand and inspected the wrist. It had small, raised pink bumps on it. "It's hives. I don't see anything alarming, but don't use sea stone again. Instead, submerge him in water so his powers are nullified while Izo does his tattoo. I'll give some itch cream."

Marco didn't ask whether that was a good idea as the chemicals might react worse, but Whiskey had to have thought of that and thought that it was alright to use it. She hadn't meant chemical, but it was an all natural salve she'd had bought off of the last island. She had been buying natural medications for Ace since she, nor anyone else, were comfortable giving him human medicine. They had no way to know how he'd react to what, and sure as hell were not injecting anything foreign into a species they had never tested on before.

"No more sea stone," Whiskey said and wiped the cream around Ace's irritated wrist. Ace nodded. "Calm down, Marco, he's not dying." Ace turned to Marco to see he had a very worried face on.

Ace frowned. "I'm fine, Marco," he said, trying to comfort Marco with a worried expression on. Marco blinked and few times and licked his lips before nodding. "I'm fine, don't worry."

"Okay," Marco replied quietly, though he worried still, about the little they know about Ace's species and what kind of sicknesses he could get. They were blessed that he hadn't reacted to anything badly so far. No food has been poison for him, the few medications they did use on him were not reactive either.

Maybe it was a fluke. Marco did not want to become obsessive about Ace's safety, and he wouldn't. He put his hand in Ace's, their fingers locking. "I'm fine," Ace said one last time, with a stern voice, though there was understanding in it. Ace knew Marco's concerns, he didn't need to ask or be told.

"Alright, you two can leave. Ace, if it gets any worse or doesn't start to fade within the next two hours, come back and see me. Don't worry so much, Marco," she threw over her shoulder as she walked away. Ace readjusted his hat and left the room with Marco.

Ace was unsurprised when Marco wanted to stick with him for the next couple of hours. And the phoenix zoan was grateful that Ace understood why he was concerned, and didn't think Marco was being obsessive or over reactive. "I know what worries you, and there's nothing anyone can do about it," he said softly, looking at Marco in the eyes. Though his voice was soft, his eyes were hard, showing Marco that he knew the risks but he wasn't going to live life afraid of "maybe"s.

The first mate nodded. "Sorry. I'm sorry, I know. It's just hard not to worry, y'know?" he said in an embarrassed voice. Ace put his hand on Marco's cheek.

"I understand. But it's no way to live in constant fear or worry about what you can do nothing about," Ace replied, sounding so mature that it really didn't make sense of him being 20 in human years. Marco turned and kissed his hand.

"I'll try. Promise," Marco said in a firm voice, his phoenix trilling in agreement. His flames wrapped around Ace's wrist, drawing his flames out as well. Marco wouldn't worry about what he could do nothing about. It was like how he finally came to not be worried about Pops' declining health. It was going to happen, and they couldn't prevent aging. The world would move on and Marco couldn't stop it. So he didn't let his worry overrule his happiness or his life. That's part of what made him a capable first mate and second in command.


	13. Progress In The Love Department

**Lots of fluff in this one!**

* * *

Ace was relieved that the hives did not come back, and that being submerged worked just as well as the sea stone. Izo didn't like working in the bathhouse like this, but it was for Ace's wellbeing, so he put up with it, and Ace was thankful. He was a lot sleepier in the bath, boxers on, but it did the trick and his tattoo was well on its way.

Fifteen hours in and the colors of the space was set, while the planets were halfway filled in. there were only three of the planets and their moons, so it wasn't too much for Izo. He seemed to be really enjoying it, and said he liked the challenge it presented. Ace had worried he wasn't up for it at first, but Izo clearly knew what he was doing.

They were landing on an island, unprotected by Whitebeard, so they'd be on guard. It did have a marine base, but they would dock on the opposite side. It was inevitable that they landed on islands with marine bases.

Like usual, they'd be stocking up on supplies the first day and then going into town the next. Marco couldn't do anything with Ace since they both had their own duties, but they agreed to meet up at the ship later. Marco was helping with the directing of who would go where and when.

Ace was sent with some of his division to get more supplies for their own jobs. They weren't needing anything specific, so they each got their own amount of money that wasn't specific from commissions, and would buy their own supplies. After all, though they were a division, the members really did their own things that didn't need much teamwork. They just fixed up what they were supposed to, and sewing and knitting weren't jobs needed from multiple people at once.

After Ace wandered around with his friends, they got to the shopping outlet, and like usual, cleaned the store out completely. Ace got himself silver, shimmery blue, and gold threads, along with matching buttons and new crochet hooks. Since there were over a hundred pirates shopping for what they liked, by the time everyone had gone inside, there was nothing left but a massive amount of money for the owner.

Since it wasn't one of their protected islands, they had no obligation to help out the citizens by leaving them resources. They were pirates, and at least they were paying for their stuff. Ace got a tea from a stand on his way back to the ship, cowboy hat on and all. He must have looked a little silly, but it didn't stop the girls from giggling at him.

After his dinner with Marco where he pointed it out, Ace did notice he attracted a lot of attention on the islands. And not because he was doing anything that would garner attention, like getting in fights or stealing, but because of his looks.

Even though many of his friends here and on his world had said he was good looking, Ace never really got the concept. He didn't feel he looked any better than anyone else. So, he ignored the women pointing at him, and headed back to the ship calmly. Mika caught up to him and fell into step beside him, both of them having big bags of their own belongings.

"Man, they weren't kidding when they said you attract attention," Mika whistled. Ace sighed as the pirate made kissy faces at the onlookers, who only looked at him in disgust. Mika took no offense at it, and laughed.

Ace looked around. "I don't ask for the attention. It's not like I'm actively doing anything to make myself look better," he replied.

"Well, once your tattoo is finished you won't be wearing a shirt. Will probably just make it worse, to be honest. After all, it's not like you're some skinny brat," Mika teased. Ace flushed a bit.

He popped his neck, straightening his hat back on, and said, "Well I'm not doing it for anyone else. Not to impress or make anyone attracted. No, not even Marco. I just wanted the tattoo on my back and with that, I have to go shirtless. Besides, I can't get cold anymore. It's not a big deal, you know?"

Mika shook his head. "I wouldn't know. I'm not exactly a ladies man." The man had scars all over his face, looking much more pirate than Ace did. He wasn't exactly attractive, but Ace saw nothing wrong with his appearance. That was one thing that really irritated Marco. Ace never thought he was overly attractive. Ace just honestly saw beyond looks. He wouldn't treat anyone differently even if they were the "ugliest" person alive. It bothered his partner that Ace didn't stare or ogle Marco like he did for Ace.

Ace was talking with Mika before he slowed his walking to a stop, suddenly. He could hear his name being called faintly, and extended his hearing out further until he heard Marco's voice, shouting to get back to the ship. Ace started to sprint, listening for any reason why he had to hurry back, but he didn't question it. But Marco said nothing.

He heard Marco getting closer, before the world started to tilt and go blurry. No one was around to catch him, and he lost control of his color once unconscious. "Mrrr-" he slurred before he collapsed right in front of a huge crowd of people, completely blue and completely unconscious.

-x-

When Marco heard there were Celestial Dragons visiting from a shopkeeper, he got a horrible feeling in his chest. Foreboding. Well, none of the crew would be stupid enough to challenge them. It would be fine as long as they conformed, no matter how humiliating that would be. Until he realized there was someone on the crew that would not know what to do or who they were on sight.

Marco dropped everything and began to run back to the ship, shouting for Ace to run, and hoping that he was keeping his hearing extended and would hear Marco before he got there. He couldn't tell if his lover had heard him or not, but started to get a bad feeling again.

He came around the corner and saw Ace's orange hat fall forwards as he landed with a dull thud on the ground, dead to the world. Marco ran to him and picked him up as people stared with wide eyes. Marco stood there awkwardly, holding Ace close before those who the crowd were there for passed.

Marco shielded Ace from view and slowly backed away from the procession. If any of the World Nobles saw Ace, they'd probably want to keep him as a collection item. Fire poured into his blood at the thought of kind Ace being hurt by anyone, especially the Celestial Dragons, which why the hell were they this far into the New World in the first place?

"Scum! Why do you not bow!" one of the idiotic Celestial Dragons shouted from his bubble headpiece. Marco backed away when a pair of eyes landed on the blue person in his grasp. Marco's arms tightened around the sleeping Ace. Marco glared at the World Noble, sitting on his emaciated slave, as he looked at Ace like he was some interesting creature at the zoo. "What is that?" he asked with a greedy voice that made Marco furious. "Let me see it!"

"Fuck off," Marco said immediately. It really wasn't the most mature thing, or the smartest, but his lover was threatened, looked at like some… some _pet. _Or, some sort of attraction. Ace was a person, human or not. When the Celestial Dragon looked furious, he pulled a gun. Marco's face stayed stony, he didn't make any move that he felt worried, for he didn't. He would be fine and Ace was a logia. A simple bullet wouldn't hurt either of them. And marines could barely get their hands on any sea stone bullets, there was no way a World Noble would have one.

"How dare you speak to me like that, you filth! If you won't bow, then I'll kill you and take that creature for my collection myself!" Marco raised an eyebrow challengingly. Suddenly, one of the guards wearing professional clothing, moved to be near the noble. That snot nosed asshole. The crew had always wondered why they were so dumb and ugly. One theory was that they hated the rest of the world so much they were inbred with one another. "I don't care if he's some big shot pirate, I want that creature in his arms!"

Marco did not act recklessly, did not attack no matter how badly he wanted to. He hoped Ace wouldn't wake up soon, and was glad that he didn't seem to be waking anytime immediately. He was still breathing heavily, probably from the running he did. Marco felt bad for making him do so, but it had been to help. It was in vain, though.

"You're not getting him," Marco said in a bland voice, and turned his back to walk away. The citizens looked shocked and terrified at the argument between pirate and noble. A gunshot was made and the bullet whizzed right through Ace and Marco, harmless and useless.

"_What?!" _the noble shouted angrily. Marco did not smirk at the frustration in the idiot's voice. He continued to walk, even with people staring at Ace in his arms. He did not care, and Ace slept on peacefully, his breathing slowly going back to normal, quick but not hyperventilating quick. He still had the bag of goodies Ace had bought, resting on Ace's chest in Marco's strong arms.

He wondered how Ace would have handled the situation if awake. He might have been so shocked he was unable to do anything. The commander was glad Ace didn't see the worst of the entire human species. He only woke up when they were nearest to the ship. "Morning, sunshine," Marco said lightly.

Ace sighed. "I fell asleep running. I'm sorry, you told me to run and I couldn't even do that," he lamented, and then looked at his skin, and frowned deeper. "Did anything bad happen? Why did you tell me to go back to the ship?" he asked, sounding concerned. Marco shook his head.

"Some Celestial Dragons are here. The bad ones who like keeping unique creatures as slaves. You didn't know what they looked like, so I was afraid you'd come across them and not know it. You fell asleep right in front of them, but I got there quick enough to protect you. The people around saw your skin, though," Marco explained honestly.

"Oh. Sorry," Ace apologized again. Marco put him down on the deck, back on his feet, and touched his face.

"None of that was your fault," he said in a stern voice. Ace replied that it felt like it was. "Well, it wasn't. And nobody will come onto our ship even at the order of a noble. You're safe, but I want you to be more alert if you go back on the island." Ace nodded and said he would.

But, Ace didn't go back on the island. He didn't feel comfortable and said he didn't want to cause problems for anyone on the crew if they did see the Celestial Dragons again. Marco had told him, a while after they got back, that the World Noble had wanted to take him. Ace was disgusted that humans would do something like that.

"Not all humans," Marco quickly pointed out. Ace looked down a bit.

"No, not all humans," he replied quietly. Marco's flames reached out for Ace, his phoenix wanting to comfort him, and Ace's flames reacted automatically, like they did most times Ace was touched except when he was asleep.

Ace had watch that night, but Thatch agreed to keep him company, and because Marco asked him to. He wasn't comfortable leaving Ace alone, even on the ship, as long as the Celestial Dragon wanted Ace for the color of his skin. It made Marco furious, and the phoenix agreed. No one would touch Ace but his friends.

He tossed and turned in bed, and not because his phoenix was acting up. He couldn't stop worrying. And he felt guilt for not getting to Ace quick enough before he revealed his real appearance, even though it was uncontrollable and he couldn't stop it when he was unconscious. And on the ship, it wasn't a problem. Ace had just not had a sleep attack on an island, so no one really thought about that. It felt stupid in hindsight to Marco.

The ship ended up having to leave early, unfortunately, as word was spread about Ace and how the Celestial Dragon wanted him and wouldn't leave the island without him. They wanted him gone, so they wanted Ace turned in. It had been one of the fourth division who had overheard that, and had immediately hurried back to the ship to report it. Not an hour later, the Moby Dick was sailing away. It was lucky that they'd already gotten all the supplies needed.

Ace felt guilty, but the crew, most of it, didn't blame him. It wasn't his fault one bit, it was the World Noble's fault, that greedy piece of trash. No one would let Ace get taken. Even if he didn't consider them family, he was family to them.

It was a week later that Marco got the paper from the newscoo, Ace reading in the crowsnest above him, though Marco heard light snores, meaning he'd fallen asleep. Marco would leave him there, as there was no harm in him sleeping there. Marco opened the paper and searched for the wanted posters, which were updated every other week. The last one hadn't had anyone on their ship, but this one did. And it made Marco _furious. _

The wanted poster had no name, but showed Ace's sleeping face, showing just a bit of Marco's chest. His real face, blue with the white freckles. And under it, there was a bounty of 100,000,000 berris with "only alive" underneath the photo. Ace was now wanted because a Celestial Dragon took interest with him. The bounty amount was nothing special, not enough that anyone would try to take him from the ship.

He stormed across the deck, paper crinkling in his fist with the rest of the newspaper forgotten, to Pops' chair, where he was sitting quietly, looking content, as the weather was great for the New World. When he noticed Marco and his furious demeanor, his face grew hard.

"What is it, son?" the captain asked seriously. Marco just thrust the paper up so that the man could see it. "A new wanted poster for Ace. 'Only alive'. A Celestial Dragon, then." He grumbled out the words, angry that Ace's picture was taken where it showed what he really looked like. Now he definitely couldn't be himself on an island. At least they had no photo of Ace when he was in human form, thankfully.

"I wish I'd killed him," Marco growled.

"An admiral would have been after us," the captain pointed out. Marco wore an expression equivalent to "so?". "It would have put Ace in danger as well. He can't fight back, and if an admiral had come, they would have gone after Ace to give back to the Celestial Dragon. Ace can barely run, right? Would he have been able to flee from someone like Kizaru, who can move at the speed of light? There is nothing we can do safely to have Ace go faster, and though he is strong with his abilities, he is not experienced in fighting back or defending himself."

"Then we'll train him! And we would have protected him from Kizaru!" Marco protested.

Whitebeard sighed lightly. "Don't let your love for him cloud your judgement, Marco. We have to think about the good of the crew as well. Very few of us would be able to hold our own on an admiral." Marco looked down, feeling guilty about thinking of his crew as an afterthought. He was supposed to make sure him being with Ace wouldn't interfere with his position.

"Sorry, Pops," Marco apologized. "I just feel very protective of him, you know? He's just so… innocent. Maybe that's not the right word. But you know what I mean. He doesn't fight back, so it's up to us to help him, right?" Whitebeard nodded in agreement.

The man said, "I understand why you think that way. I know your feelings are very strong for him, but you need to be careful. And besides, do you really think Ace would want you to worry and coddle him?" Marco shook his head. Ace wouldn't want to be a burden to others, even if they didn't think he was. "And I think putting him through some training would be helpful and productive."

Marco nodded, and looked back down at the wanted poster he was still holding. Marco would never let anything happen to Ace. not just because he loved him, but Ace couldn't be lost to this world. Not when he might be the only one like him. Pure and not a mean bone in his body.

-x-

Ace was panting hard, hands on his knees, as he tried to catch his breath. He was sparring with Marco. Well, trying to. He got winded so badly so often that it was more like one hit each, and then Ace needed a few minutes to catch his breath. He was so humiliated that he was on the verge of tears. He couldn't do anything. He would be a burden now that he was being hunted and unable to do anything to protect himself physically.

Marco was being nice, but Ace knew he just felt like he had to. Ace was a burden, making things worse for them. Even if the Whitebeard mark was nearing completion, and he would officially be part of the crew, he felt like he would just cause trouble for them, no matter how many times and how many people tried to convince him different.

The sayla took a deep breath, as deep as his body allowed, and got back into fighting stance. Marco smiled, and came at him again, Ace able to dodge and even land a hit on Marco with his leg, throwing Marco back a few feet. He was keeping his form solid to help Ace practice on a real person's body.

Ace dodged again, ducking as Marco kicked where his head would have been. Ace reached up and grabbed Marco's foot before yanking him down and slamming him on the deck. Ace was not used to fighting after so long, but it was coming back to him, even as his body protested.

It became too much and he fell to his knees, clutching his stomach as he breathed so quickly he was hyperventilating. He held his breath to calm himself, and then let it out, before getting back on his feet. Sweat covered every inch of his body, sliding down his back and chest. He was only wearing shorts right now.

Marco got back up and grinned, praising Ace. And he couldn't help but ask Ace if he needed a break. Ace shook his head, only getting a sip of water from his water bottle, before calming his breathing and then getting ready to continue. He may not be doing the best, but he was going to try his hardest to do as well as he physically could.

A flying kick came towards Ace, and he was suddenly five feet out of the way, not feeling breathless from the sprint. Marco looked surprised, too. "What happened?" Ace asked. He didn't know how he ended up over there. And how fast it had happened. Marco smiled, almost in triumph.

"I think you turned into fire and moved quickly by doing that. Why don't we work with your devil fruit abilities? First and foremost we want to be able to run, since you don't want to fight. If you can use your devil fruit to get around your physical limitations, then we're doing that," the first mate explained. Ace took a swig of his cool water and then returned, feeling more confident that maybe, _maybe, _he wouldn't be a complete burden to his crew.

As it turned out, Ace had a lot of trouble turning into fire on demand. Well, moving while he did so. He was able to flame up, but wasn't quite able to turn his entire body into flames. It made him feel nauseous afterwards, but he did his best. Marco held his hair back when it became too much and he threw up over the side of the ship, rubbing his back.

His hair wasn't long enough to get in his face, but it was a way to comfort the sayla, who was embarrassed about this. Marco took him to his room to sleep once he had a sleep attack. When Marco took him to his room, he entered the room to find Ace's bedding gone, probably in the wash or waiting to be washed.

Marco wanted Ace to not be bothered by any sounds if he was still sick and dizzy, so he took the sayla to his own room, and tucked him in under the sheets. Marco's phoenix cooed and Marco scoffed, leaving the room, though keeping the door open. He only went next door to his office, not wanting to risk making Ace uncomfortable by being in his room. Marco's was the only office in that hallway.

Ace woke up a bit confused to where he was, but when he found some of Marco's clothes hanging over a chair, he realized he was in his room. Oh yeah, he'd passed out and the bedding in his own room was dirty and in the wash. It would be there back the end of the day.

He sat up and moved the covers away, noting how much more comfortable this bed was to his own, and left the room, not touching anything or looking too hard at any one thing. He was curious, but it was Marco's space and he didn't want to risk messing anything up.

He heard the sound of scribbling on paper and found Marco in the side room, doing some work. "Thanks for letting me sleep in there," Ace said. He was feeling much better than before passing out.

"Of course. Your room wasn't ready and there were people in the library. Are you still feeling sick?" the commander asked, concern in his voice. Ace shook his head. He felt fine now, if not still a bit fatigued.

Marco nodded. "Your body isn't used to turning into fire on top of pushing it to its limit when sparring. I am pleasantly surprised by your fighting skills. I guess I didn't think they would be so good since you don't like to fight and haven't practiced in at least three months." Ace wasn't offended with being underestimated. It made sense, since Ace didn't like to fight. So of course it would be surprising to find he was quite good at it.

Sparring with Marco had been nothing like sparring with Sabo and Luffy. Their fights were filled with laughter and dirty, underhanded moves. Luffy cheering them on from the a rock in their little clearing.

"I don't like to hurt people, but I don't _not _like sparring," Ace replied. "I still did it at home, to stay in shape, y'know? But after Luffy and Sabo… well, it just isn't as fun as it used to be." Marco frowned and stood up, walking to hug Ace, who hugged him back.

Marco stepped back to say, "No one in this world or any other will replace your brothers or what you had with them. And no one will try to do so. Everyone may think of you as family now, but that doesn't mean you have to force yourself to call us family back. If or when you are ever ready, we'll be so happy, but even if it never happens, you're still our crewmate and we love you." Ace looked down, feeling a bit ashamed.

"I'm sorry I won't call you guys family. I hope everyone knows that it's not because I don't like you," Ace replied quietly. He felt bad for not calling them family, but he just _couldn't._ He liked them all a lot, but even after these months, he still felt he'd be betraying them. Ace knew that Sabo especially would be mad he was still so hung up on their deaths almost a decade later, and was limiting himself because of memories of his dear brothers. They would both be mad at him, but he knew they'd feel the same way as him in this situation.

Marco sat on the chair, Ace on the other, and said, "We know you care about us, and we know why you won't call us family. No one thinks you're not doing so because you're just a jerk. We know what it's like to lose family, and would never fault someone who lost their family and is unable to completely move on."

Ace nodded and thanked Marco for his kind words. "I just… What if I'm bad luck or something? They both died and I survived, and then Teach attacked when I came and now I'm wanted by Celestial Dragons. What if I'm just bringing bad luck everywhere?"

Marco leaned forward and cupped Ace's cheek. "There's no way you are bad luck. Teach would have attacked regardless, and you can't have bad luck after surviving one of your most vital organs was completely destroyed and needed to be removed." Ace nodded, knowing Marco had a point. Ace hadn't felt like bad luck in years.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Ace wanting to talk and Marco noticing, and patiently waiting. Ace finally spoke, white freckles standing out in the dark room. "I'm sorry if I cause trouble later. With the wanted poster and everything," Ace finally said, sounding awkward but sincere.

"Ace, my bounty is over five times yours and Pops' over fifty. You have a small bounty in comparison. They're not going to attack our ship to steal you away or anything like that. They may listen to the world government, but they arent overly stupid. You're not a threat to them. No one has seen any of your abilities. All they think you are is an oddly colored human. You're low on the marines' priorities. Besides, on islands that aren't protected, someone will be with you," Marco replied patiently. Ace nodded, not apologizing again.

When dinner came, word of Ace's impromptu success, no matter if it was unable to be replicated yet, had spread around the ship. Those who liked him congratulated him, and the ever shrinking amount of people that didn't like him just said nothing.

Ace no longer got hateful glares, but he still got some disapproving looks. He knew it was not just because he was not human. He'd heard whispers about his and Marco's relationship. They didn't dare say it in front of Marco, and Ace wasn't exactly someone to tattle on things he'd overheard. Some thought Ace was just using Marco since he was more powerful on the crew, but Ace had never asked Marco to do anything that only his position was allowed.

He had heard more comments about the fact Ace and Marco were not the same species, but it didn't bother Ace. They could say what they wanted. Ace and Marco were happy together and no one else would be breaking them up just because they disapproved. The sayla was sure that Marco would want him to report these things, but the whispers were not hurting anyone, and everyone was entitled to their own opinions as long as it didn't hurt others.

Since he didn't mean to overhear, he also didn't say anything because he assumed those conversations were meant to be private. So, Ace was used to the minority of the crew disliking his presence for various reasons. It made him a bit sad, but that was overruled by content with the rest of the crew that had accepted him. Those who hadn't were more of an afterthought by now.

Haruta and Thatch asked for all the details about Ace's training, and he grew flustered. On one hand, he was weak, but on the other he had done well. He didn't know what to say, so Marco saved him and did the talking for him, touching his hand gently on the table as he ate with his other hand.

"Considering he hasn't fought anyone in a while, he's quite good. The only limitation is the issue with his heart and fatiguing quickly. But, if he learns how to turn into fire at all, he might be able to run without getting very winded," Marco explained.

"Man it sucks that you have to go through that crap, Ace," Haruta said sadly. "Stupid Teach," he grumbled angrily. Many of the commanders shared the sour look. Thatch looked sad at it, and Ace knew that he blamed himself for Ace's lifelong injury. Ace had never blamed him for not being suspicious of someone he'd known for decades. He knew it was natural to trust family.

At this thought, Ace wondered if part of the reason he didn't want to call them family was because he had seen one of them betray the others. That family doesn't mean anything to some people. Thinking about it, Ace dismissed the thought. That wasn't the reason he didn't want to be considered family. It was just a passing thought that came and went quickly.

The rest of the meal was spent talking about other things before Ace started to slur and Marco caught him before he slammed into the table. Since the meal was practically over, and Ace had had a tiring day, his body clearly needing rest as he'd had two sleep attacks in a short amount of time, he was carried back to his room. Marco set him down and dressed the bed with the clean sheets before tucking Ace in with a kiss to the forehead.

-x-

Marco woke in the middle of the night when he felt a presence before hearing the knock on his door. He got up, stretched and put some pajama pants on since he was sleeping in his underwear, and opened the door to see Ace standing there, looking absolutely adorable as he had a blanket draped around his shoulders, not for warmth since he was made of fire.

"What's wrong?" Marco asked, and moved aside for Ace to enter. He looked uncomfortable after Marco turned the dresser lamp on to see some of the room. Ace mumbled something that Marco couldn't hear, so the commander patiently asked for Ace to repeat it.

"I had a bad dream. Can I stay in here?" he asked in a small, embarrassed voice. Marco said of course he could, and when Ace headed to the chair, Marco stopped him. He didn't ask what the dream was, since it was obviously bad if Ace stepped out of his comfort zone to come out of his room and wake up Marco.

Marco said, "You're welcome to take the bed and I'll take the chair."

"I don't want to be a bother, I can go back," Ace replied, though he was clearly sleepy. Marco walked towards him and turned him around and led him to the bed. He pulled the blanket back.

"You will never be a bother to me. You are welcome to have the bed. I have no problem sleeping in the chair. And I'm not gonna share the bed with you if you're uncomfortable," Marco said emphatically.

"I didn't say that would make me uncomfortable," Ace said in a questioning voice. Marco's eyebrows raised. Did Ace mean he would be okay sharing the bed? Marco asked that slowly, cautiously, not wanting to make him feel pressured. "I'm okay. You see me asleep all the time and I don't expect you to do anything," he answered.

Marco's cheeks turned red and he put a shirt on quickly. Ace seemed a lot less nervous than Marco did, completely trusting that Marco would do nothing he didn't want. It made Marco's heart warm, and he didn't overstep boundaries. Sharing the bed was enough, Marco didn't need to cuddle, no matter how much he and the phoenix wanted to.

Ace fell asleep quickly, curled up under the blankets. Marco was curled on his own side, but kept himself from draping an arm over Ace. He was going slow, no matter what. He wouldn't even run the _risk _that Ace didn't want to cuddle and Marco was touching him when it wasn't wanted.

It was hard to fall asleep, and he almost did when Ace rolled over, flinging his arm out and smacking Marco in the face with his hand. It didn't hurt, of course, but it made Marco snicker and then move his hand so theirs were joined, Ace's relaxed and limp in his grasp. He fell asleep easier now.

When Marco woke up, he found Ace had dragged the blanket with him and left Marco with nothing. He propped himself up on his forearms and looked to the side at his partner, who looked so relaxed, curled in a ball. Marco knew the commanders' beds were better quality than the regular bunks, and especially Ace's, which was a guest bed and therefore the least used and crappiest of quality.

Marco got up and got a change of clothes and changed in the bathroom, grateful commanders got their own bathrooms, small though they may be. When he went back out, Ace was sitting up in bed, looking a little hazy, clutching a pillow. His hair was a mess, and Marco couldn't help but feel fuzzy inside. Ace was adorable. "Morning, sunshine," Marco said around the toothbrush in his mouth. Ace yawned, and then looked around. Marco was worried he didn't remember last night and he was shocked to be in Marco's bed. "How did you sleep?"

"We should trade mattresses. Mine sucks," he said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. In the dim light, it really looked like Ace's freckles glowed, even though they didn't. Marco laughed. There was no way he was trading his mattress. No way in hell.

"No way. I'm not getting a crappy guest bed," he replied. Ace pouted. "You can share mine, though, whenever you like."

"Maybe," he said and then stood up, leaving the bed a mess. When he started to make the bed, Marco said, "There's no need to make the bed. I rarely do so, it's not like a lot of people come through my room. I leave clothes everywhere as well."

"My old room was a mess. I was not neat, and always had food wrappers on my dresser from eating in my room," Ace said honestly. "But I stay clean here. It's not my house, so I don't want to make a mess." Marco's smile dropped. Did Ace not think of the Moby as his home?

"This is your home now…" he said slowly, and Ace must have realized that he upset Marco. But he misunderstood.

"I meant it's not _just _mine. Other people live here too, not just my equally-as-messy friends. The Moby Dick is my new home. It's just different, since I haven't always shared my home with hundreds of others." Marco sighed, having been really worried for a second. "Was I okay to sleep with?" Marco nodded.

He smiled, and then replied, "You sure hog the blankets for someone who doesn't get cold." But he didn't say it in irritation. When Ace apologized, Marco said, "Don't worry, I only realized it this morning. Your hair sure is a mess though." He laughed when Ace tried to flatten it to make it presentable.

"I'm gonna go back to my room and change. And fix my hair," Ace said, leaving the bedding in a mess on the bed even though Marco really didn't mind. "I'll see you at breakfast," Ace said with a smile. Marco beamed back, and said he looked forward to it.

The second Ace opened the door, Marco sighed. Someone was outside the door. Ace looked surprised to see Thatch standing there, hair a mess and not done up in his usual style. "A-Ace? What are you doing in Marco's room?"

Marco walked up behind Ace and put his hand on the door frame. "Ace slept on my more comfortable bed last night," he said in a perfectly pleasant voice so Ace didn't see the cold, threatening glare the first mate gave his fellow commander, who froze and then nodded. "Did you need something?"

Thatch looked startled before remembering he'd come for a reason. "I'm out of shampoo. Can I use yours?" Ace walked around Thatch, to go get changed. They had woken up very early based on the fact that Thatch wasn't even ready for breakfast. The moment Ace had turned the corner, Thatch burst into giggles. "Have a fun night~?"

Marco punched Thatch in the gut. "Don't you dare spread this around. We slept, that was all and you are not going to tell anyone otherwise. Understand?" Thatch grumbled, holding his aching stomach, and snatched the product out of his hand. Marco heard the chef mutter, "Party pooper."

The first mate sighed and turned around and went back inside his room, closing the door and looking at the mess of the bed he shared with Ace. His face colored as he wore a genuine and content smile. Ace was comfortable enough to sleep with him. Hopefully, more nights of this could happen. Cuddling and dozing together. His phoenix was very happy, as well.

Thatch, to his credit, was smart and did not spread around that Ace had spent the night in Marco's room, even though he gave both parties puppy dog looks, wanting to tell someone. He seemed to be itching with the desire to spill the beans.

But, when Ace asked to talk to Thatch in private, Marco overheard Ace beg him not to tell anyone. Marco felt beyond hurt but stayed long enough to hear Ace say, "I don't want any trouble for Marco about playing favorites or abusing his power." Marco felt infinitely better for staying just a few seconds longer.

Ace didn't regret spending the night with him, he just didn't want it to get ruined or Marco in trouble. Though Pops would know that Marco was not and was never going to abuse his power in their relationship. Besides, what was the big deal about sharing the bed? Marco hadn't, and never would, force Ace to stay. He would have never asked first, letting Ace make the move if he wanted to.

And he clearly didn't regret it when he appeared that night again, carrying a pillow. The ship was asleep when Ace walked into the room and laid on the bed, crawling under the covers with a sleepy smile to Marco, who climbed in afterwards. "Can I?" he asked quietly, his arm reaching over Ace, asking if he could touch him.

Ace smiled and shimmied himself under Marco's arm. "I love you, Marco," Ace whispered, the first time he'd outright said the words. Marco grinned and leaned forward to kiss Ace, just a peck on the lips. It was their first kiss, and it was short and sweet before Ace fell asleep in Marco's arms.

Marco kept the tears inside. He'd been insecure from the beginning to an extent that Ace would not return his feelings in full. The sayla had said he felt the same, but had never been the first to say "I love you". It meant so much to Marco, three little words.

The bed was so warm with another person, especially someone made of fire, and his phoenix was content all night, and he had the most restful night he'd had in a very long time. Like the world and all of his responsibilities melted away when he held the sayla when they both slept. Nothing had been more relaxing than spending the night with his lover. Marco was cheesy, though he didn't say it, and felt that Ace was his soul mate. He liked to keep the sappyness to himself. Fantasizing that Ace arrived on earth to be with him.

He'd never say such embarrassing things, but he could think them all he wanted.

On days that Ace had to do other things, and couldn't spend much time with Marco, it helped immensely to be able to go to bed with him, every night without fail. And no one knew about it but Thatch and Pops. The chef was doing a good job following through, though Marco's threat of burning his hair was what kept him quiet.


	14. An Unexpected Ability

**phoenix: not so much super fluff in this chapter. More drama and surprise!**

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**New big developments in this one! It'll be surprising, I think. Enjoy~**

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Ace was having a perfectly good day, as it was late morning and he had woken up with Marco again that day. It made him happy, waking up and not alone in the guest room which still felt cold and unfamiliar. He was in the bathroom, his shirt off and admiring the finished tattoo. It looked like Ace's home world, and he was glad Izo was able to use the actual freckles to be the constellations.

Marco, Thatch and Whitebeard were the first to see it complete the day before, and all of them said it was beautiful. Ace would be going shirtless from now on, showing off the Whitebeard mark that also held the memory of his home world proudly. He turned in every direction to admire the artwork on his back. He was working on making the second, much smaller tattoo that would go on his shoulder. "ASL" in his own language. Izo was interested in doing it, and Ace was working on the sketch. It would be much easier than the back tattoo since it would be all in black. Simple.

Ace held the shirt in his hands, and walked around the ship happily, a smile on his face. Many commented on how beautiful it was, and that they were happy he'd finally gotten it. The sayla was glad no one made a mention of joining the family. The space he was being given was appreciated.

He was heading to his room to put the shirt away, since it wasn't used enough to need to be washed, when he overheard someone in a grumpy voice say, "Not only is he sleeping with Marco, but now he's shirtless. Fucking whore." He stopped in his tracks, and frowned. He didn't know what whore meant, but it had to be something insulting.

Long ago, at the beginning, Ace would have been ashamed, would have put the shirt back on, would have tried to forget about it but it would weigh on his mind for hours. He looked at the shirt in his hands, and his grip tightened. He had the Whitebeard mark, he was part of the crew, and he deserved as much respect as anyone else.

Ace wasn't good with being confrontational, would rather let things fizzle away peacefully, but Ace was not going to put up with it this time. He turned right around and followed where he'd heard the voices come from. He entered that hallway and stood in front of three large pirates. They all glared down at him and Ace looked up at them with a blank face.

"I don't appreciate you calling me nasty words and I'd like you to not do it again. I don't know how the ship found out about me staying the night in Marco's room, but that is no one's business but ours. And I am ditching the shirt to proudly show off the jolly roger mark on my back. Everyone has their own opinions, and that's fine, but don't call me whatever you just did. It's not nice and is very unnecessary. If you have a problem, then you can talk to Marco."

The three pirates were clearly shocked that Ace had confronted them. He had not been disrespectful, but he'd promised Marco long ago he wouldn't let anyone walk all over him. And he was keeping that promise.

"You better not tell him about what I said," one of them said in an almost panicked voice. Marco would rip him apart if he knew about what he'd said about his lover. Ace didn't know what "whore" meant, but he knew it was a big insult.

"I'm not telling anyone. I overheard you, and that was a private conversation, but for once I can not brush it off and move on. Don't call me that again. I know it's disrespectful and completely uncalled for," Ace finished, and turned and walked away to return his shirt to its proper place.

He felt good leaving the situation. He stood up for himself. Something he never did on this ship. He prefered to avoid any problems that might occur, but he had to do something about this. And he was proud that he was calm and collected even as he told those three off. Marco didn't need to know about it. No one did, since Ace had stood up for himself. He didn't need or want someone else to do it for him.

When he entered the galley, shirtless and wearing the hat that clashed with his skin color, the pirates (most of them) started cheering at seeing the finished tattoo on their newest member's back. Ace saw Marco looked very happy with the view, and Ace grew bashful, his cheeks darkening. He'd have to get used to it, though. He chose to have the tattoo on his back.

When he sat down next to Marco, he let the hat fall backwards until it was resting on his back, just barely covering the top of his tattoo. Izo chuckled. "Now you'll be even more of a ladies' man." Ace shrugged and Marco scowled.

"I'm Marco's, he doesn't need to worry," Ace said simply, and dug into his sandwich. Marco beamed, and turned to his own food. Ace saw the three who'd called him a whore walk into the room, and when he made eye contact, they glowered but looked away immediately. Ace wasn't the only one to notice this, as Izo had caught the exchange as well. He looked at Ace with a questioning face. "It's nothing. I solved a problem." Izo nodded and didn't press.

After lunch, Marco had to go do some stuff and Ace volunteered to help with stock for Thatch. He had finished his work in the early morning for that day. Thatch was more than happy to have Ace's help.

As Ace read off the expiration dates of the food, and kept a log of what was needed to be restocked, Thatch told Ace silly stories about Marco that the first mate probably wouldn't like spread to Ace.

"And then once he went to a whore house but was so uncomfortable that he had them leave the moment the women came into the room. He was so shy, it was hilarious. But, he was only in his late teens, and gay, so I guess it makes sense?" Thatch laughed loudly. Ace was glad he hadn't needed to be the one to bring it up, but it was the perfect time to ask.

"What's a whore?" Ace wondered, checking off bananas on the list of needing to be restocked.

Thatch hummed. "Usually it is directed at women. It's an insult or slur about someone who sleeps around a lot, or uses their bodies to get something from someone else," the chef explained. Ace couldn't help but scoff. They called him a whore for sharing the bed and then not wearing a shirt? Many of the crew barely wore anything. What was shirtless so bad for?

Thatch looked up at him, and his face grew dark. Ace realized that the man must have connected the dots based on Ace's reaction. Thatch may be ditzy, but he wasn't stupid. "Ace, did someone call you a whore?" he asked in a low voice. Ace didn't lie, like he never did. So, he nodded.

"I stood up to them, though. I didn't let them walk all over me. They said I was a whore for sleeping with Marco and also going shirtless. Though me and Marco don't do anything but sleep. No one will believe that, though," Ace said in frustration. Thatch was furious.

Thatch growled under his breath, angry at whoever had said such a thing to Ace. Especially when they all probably went to the brothels. How was Ace more of whore by sleeping with the man who he was in love with, just sleeping? How was that worse than having sex with random women and paying them for it? Thatch wasn't one to judge about the brothels, but he was angry about this.

Ace put his blue hand on Thatch's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. And don't tell Marco, he'll get really mad," Ace said calmly. Thatch smiled up at him.

"You've grown up a lot since coming here, Ace. Even more than you had been when you first came," Thatch said fondly, giving Ace a genuine grin. "I'm so glad I found you that day." Ace nodded in agreement. He was glad things had gotten better and he felt welcome now. He felt wanted, and that was a great feeling.

"And I'm glad you took me here and had me treated." The two worked in the storage room for another hour before everything was stocked and nice and neat. At the end, Ace asked Thatch to not tell anyone about the whore incident. He didn't like the word. It was mean and very disrespectful. He hated the words even coming out of his mouth, even if he wasn't aiming it at anyone.

That night, when Ace made his way to Marco's room, like he'd been doing for over a week, he laid on top of Marco, who slept with his arm around Ace's clothed back, both sleeping contently and deeply. Ace slept so much better on this bed and with someone else. It reminded him of sharing the big bed with Sabo and Luffy so long ago. And it didn't make him sad, only a bit bittersweet.

Waking up each morning with someone next to him was a nice feeling. For both of them. When Ace woke up before Marco, he kissed the human before going back to his room to get dressed. Neither of them had said anything about Ace moving into that room. He still had his stuff in the guest room, he only spent the night in Marco's room.

-x-

Marco and Ace walked together through a dinky little town on the island the moby Dick was now dicked at, holding hands. Ace was shirtless, wearing his orange hat, and in human skin. No one had recognized him, since he wasn't exactly blue at the moment. And it was a protected island, no marine bases. The crew felt safe to have Ace there, but Marco was going with him. They'd stocked up the day before, like always.

Marco was caressing Ace's hand with his thumb, the skin so soft and velvety. Marco could touch Ace's skin all day and still not get bored. Ace pointed out to random stores he'd like to check out, since he didn't recognize many of them. Most of the places they stopped were for food, and Ace ate a lot of it, enjoying the taste of new food that Thatch hadn't cooked.

The two were used to the people looking at Ace by now, though they immediately looked away when they saw Ace's back tattoo. Marco was happy with this. When the two went to a coffee shop, holding hands, the owner glared at the two pirates. The obvious couple. "We don't serve people like you here," the cashier man said in a disrespectful tone.

"Why?" Ace asked cluelessly. Marco was giving a cold glare to the man glaring at their joined hands. "We won't hurt you, even though we're pirates." Marco looked sad, wishing Ace didn't have to see this side of humanity.

The woman scoffed. "We don't serve homos here." Ace looked confused, but Marco tugged on his arm before he asked another question.

"C'mon, we don't need to be served by pathetic homophobic people," Marco said quietly. When they got outside, Ace asked what had just happened, and what homophobic meant. He knew what a phobia was, but wasn't connecting the dots. "A homophobic person is someone who believes that same-sex couples are wrong. Not everyone is like those accepting us on the ship," the human pirate explained.

Ace wore a sad look, but the two just headed to another shop that treated them far better than the previous. The two took their cups of coffee and hot chocolate and went to the nearest park, waving to some of Marco's brothers and Ace's friends when the passed them as they did their own things.

The two sat on the grass, not on the bench. It was a very nice day outside, and they took advantage of it, laying down on the grass and looking at the clouds. It was the most normal couple moment both of them had ever felt, while it also felt like spending time with their best friend.

"I finished the design of my tattoo. It took so long cause I want it to be perfect," Ace said after they had talked about all of the clouds above. "It'll be in my own language. The letters 'ASL' for the first initials of our names," the sayla explained pleasantly.

"I'm sure they'd appreciate the sentiment. You'll be carrying your family, your new friends, and your home world on your body. Will that make you happy?" Marco asked, hand gripping Ace's, both resting above their heads just barely. Ace nodded with a smile.

They spent a little more time on the island before heading back to the ship. Dinner was delicious, as Ace had requested takoyaki balls since he'd had some on the island and they were delicious. People were happy with the suggestion and they had many octopus themed dishes that night.

-x-

Two days later, Ace was submerged in the bathtub again, like he had been weeks ago to get his tattoo done after they found out he had a reaction to seastone. He was laying on his side, trying to calm his breathing as best as he could to not shake so much, and Izo worked on the arm not in the water. The symbols in his own language were very different than the humans. But Ace had never seen the humans' language since his chip translated everything into his own language. Their words had morphed into his, much like their voices were in his own language.

The inking took considerably less time than his back, and was finished in the day. It had the clear wrap on it, and Ace was very happy with the outcome. He thanked Izo as he helped him out of the water and to get dressed.

Ace still bathed alone, even though he'd been on the ship for over four months. He knew his anatomy was very similar, but was still embarrassed. Unlike the humans in this world, people did not bathe together on his planet. They valued the privacy of showering on their own. He knew he had to get used to it, but just wasn't ready yet. And the pirates respected that.

When Ace was in the library, sketching in his newest notebook - his fifth one to be exact - Marco entered with a tray of paper and pencils. Ace looked up and stuck his pencil in the page he was working on like a bookmark, and asked Marco what was up.

"I want you to try and teach me how to write your language," he said simply. "I want to be more involved and know more about your world. Besides, if you teach me, we can pass notes to each other without anyone being able to read them."

Ace chuckled. "That sounds like something a kid would do." Marco shrugged and said maybe.

"So, will you teach me?" he asked, and Ace nodded. They pulled the table over and Ace said, "Translator half power." The chip in his head changed the font of the words in front of him into Marco's language. He knew how to write his own language, and now was able to see both the human and sayla writing. It was confusing and would give him a headache to use half power, but he could deal with it.

He started by teaching Marco the alphabet, which was longer than his, and the symbols more complex. The rules of the language, as Ace explained, were simpler than the rules of the humans. Marco copied the symbols, letters, onto a piece of paper with his alphabet side by side to compare.

Ace taught him simple words, like greetings and names. Marco's name wasn't very elegant, but Ace's was. When sayla wrote, they used their full name, even if they didn't call each other that. So Ace's name was "Asus", which was his full name though he never used it.

Marco enjoyed it it seemed, learning something new and challenging. He caught on quickly, a fast learner just like Ace was. After all, he was one of the best of his division by now, able to do full embroidered pieces that were completely filled in with different colors. Practice really did make perfect.

When Ace decided he should get back to work, Marco took the supplies back to his room while Ace headed to the division work space after a quick kiss on the lips. He had already done everything, since he was so fast now, so he only left to work on his secret, current project. He'd stolen one of Marco's open shirts from the laundry and was now embroidering blue and gold wings coming out of the shoulder blades and down the back of the long sleeves. Marco had many of these shirts, so one wouldn't be missed.

He was close to being finished, and it looked very good. His friends in his division knew about it, of course, since he worked on it in there, where Marco wouldn't find it. They even helped him out a bit with organizing thread and putting it through the needles when it was a bit difficult for Ace since he couldn't still his breathing completely.

Ace was so thankful Marco could sleep through Ace's breathing and light snores. The phoenix didn't snore, but Ace had small ones. Marco said he liked them, which Ace didn't really believe. Why would anyone like snores?

The next day, Ace had Marco's finished shirt in a bag leftover from christmas, and brought it to Marco before they both went to breakfast, changed clothes and all. His face was a deep blue, hoping Marco would like it, or at least pretend to like it.

"I have something to give you, Marco," Ace said hesitantly. He closed the bedroom door and thrust the gift bag out, afraid Marco would be mad about him ruining the shirt. Marco looked surprised, but took the bag and pulled out the shirt. Marco looked shocked and Ace bit his lip in nervousness.

"You made this?" Marco asked in awe. Ace nodded. "It's gorgeous," the commander breathed out. "How long did this take?"

"A little over a week. I've been doing it in secret. I didn't want you to get a spoiler from someone," Ace replied, feeling much better and seeing that Marco liked it and wasn't lying. He said it was amazing, and immediately took off his current shirt and switched it with the edited one.

He looked in the bathroom mirror and grinned. A smile he reserved for Ace and his closest brothers. "It's incredible. You're so talented, I am blown away," he said, hugged Ace and then tilted his head up to kiss him. "Thank you." Ace nodded happily, cheeks flushed from the kiss and compliments.

The two left the room, Ace feeling so happy and latched to Marco's strong arm. When they entered the galley, Thatch was cooking breakfast and a few pirates had trickled in. Marco and Ace walked to the kitchen, and Marco got Thatch's attention. "Look at what Ace made me," he said, and turned around to see the flames on his shirt.

"Wow! That's amazing! Did it take you a long time?" Thatch asked in awe. Ace shook his head and said it only took a week. "That's pretty impressive." Ace blushed and thanked him for the comment, hat slightly overshadowing his gold eyes.

After taking their food, Ace asked if they could sit at his old table today, or that Ace could go by himself and leave him to the commander's table. Marco said whichever he wanted, so they split so Ace could hang with his other friends. Marco was not insulted in the least, and sat with his fellow higher ups.

Ace got compliments from his friends and division members on Marco's finished product, which they could all see since their table was behind his. Ace flushed and thanked them. "So, when are you moving into Marco's room?" Nick asked curiously. He hadn't been around Ace much lately since he was sitting at Marco and Thatch's table more often. While he enjoyed sitting with them, some of the commanders still didn't like him and it made him feel a bit unwelcome, but sitting with Marco and his closest friend was worth it most days.

Ace coughed on his food. "We're not moving in together," he said. Those at the table looked confused.

"But… you sleep with him every night. Doesn't that mean you're moving in?" The sayla shook his head.

"I sleep with him at night, but I still like having my own space I can go to if I need to. I don't use it much anymore, but I like knowing that it's there for me. Besides, Marco and I haven't even brought up the topic. I don't know about him, but it hasn't even crossed my mind," Ace said honestly. "Probably someday we'll move in together, but not yet."

"Hmm," Mika said. Ace didn't ask what he meant by it. "Anyways, will you make me something? I have a hat and I want the jolly roger to be on it. I'll take over your duties while you make it. And I'll pay you for it."

Ace smiled. "I'd be glad to help." He loved feeling useful and helping. And since he couldn't do much around the ship, he took every chance to be helpful as he could. And he enjoyed the embroidering. Plus, the faces people made when they got the finished product made it all even better.

"Thanks, Ace!" Mika said happily. Ace nodded, and ate his food happily. He'd get started on the hat as soon as possible. Commander Izo would probably be okay with it as long as the clothing got finished. There had been less workload since there was no marine or pirate attack for a while so clothes weren't ripped apart or stained with blood, though the washing wasn't their job to do.

Ace started on the hat in his own room before bed. It was a red top hat, like Vista's, and he wanted the jolly roger in black on the front. Ace didn't think it would look that good, but to each his own. After all, Ace wore a bright orange hat with some weird accessories on it.

As he worked, he thought about his brothers. Sabo would laugh at him for enjoying sewing, while Luffy would beg to decorate his favorite straw hat. Ace smiled at the memory, and continued to sew until Marco came to tell him he was going to bed. The knock on the door made him sure it was Marco, but when he opened it, he saw another commander. The one he liked the least and who also disliked him as well.

The sayla couldn't help but look to either side and see if anyone else was there. Kingdew glared at him and Ace wondered why. He hadn't done anything bad or anything. "Yes?" he asked hesitantly.

"I still don't like you, but I don't think you will do anything to damage the crew. I want to apologize for what I did in the beginning. It was immature and wrong, no matter if I thought it was for the good of the crew," he said stiffly.

"Thank you. I forgive you and those who worked with you," Ace replied simply. He didn't mind being told he didn't like him, but was happy he had at least some trust from Kingdew. Maybe not a lot, but some. After he left, Ace went back inside and changed into pajamas. Even if he went shirtless all day, he slept with something on, like Marco did when he was there.

The mythical zoan came to get him at ten, and Ace happily walked with him to Marco's room to sleep for the night. Ace always took the right side of the bed while Marco took the left. It worked since they both laid on the right side. While Marco had barely touched Ace the first few nights they had shared the bed, now he was always the big spoon, or chest to chest with his arms around Ace, making him feel safe and loved. A feeling he'd missed since his brothers had passed.

The next morning, Ace trained more with his devil fruit, working on making himself tangible and intangible at all. It was difficult, but didn't make him breathe any quicker than usual. He was getting the hang of it well, and was glad. Especially since people had taken to watching Ace train, and he was glad he wasn't an embarrassment. He still couldn't move quickly in fire mode, he had to stay still when becoming flames. It had been an accident that he was unable to recreate when he had moved as the flame a couple weeks ago.

Marco tossed Ace a water bottle that he drank from greedily. "Need a break?" Ace shook his head, though he really should have one. He'd been going at it for an hour. "No, we'll take a break." Ace wondered why he asked him in the first place if he was going to make the decision. Though Ace was glad he was taking a break and had not been the one to ask to.

The two sat near the mast, and some of the crowd dispersed. Whitebeard was watching from his giant chair, looking pretty happy. Ace knew that he thought of him as his son. He could think that all he wanted, Ace couldn't control his thoughts, but the man never slipped up and addressed the sayla as his son, which Ace was grateful for.

He still hadn't explained properly why he didn't want a father figure. Especially one with many hundreds of children. Ace knew it was stupid, but even though he often isolated himself, he craved attention. And getting little of it from someone who he would call father would hurt more than he admit. He was an adult, he should be over it. But he wasn't.

"You okay?" Marco asked, seeing Ace lost in his thoughts. Ace shook his head slightly as if to get rid of them.

"I'm fine. Just thinking." Marco knew him well enough now to be able to tell when Ace had closed off, which was rare but Marco didn't press on subjects that Ace clearly didn't want to talk about. He wasn't nosy, and Ace was already so honest with him about other things. A couple internal things he wanted to keep to himself was no big deal.

The two got up again, and resumed the training. Ace's body had not taken to the exercise like they had all hoped. He still got winded easily, and had to take more breaks than a regular person when he was not training his devil fruit. He had to drink a lot of water, too. No one watching ever made him feel weak. After all, it was a side effect of saving Thatch and was in no way Ace's fault.

The day ended with Ace getting his ass whooped by Marco, who had started to use haki, though did not hit Ace anywhere in the chest. They didn't want to risk damaging anything, even if Ace was a logia now. The haki would bypass the powers and possibly cause complications no one wanted to risk.

Ace practiced the rest of the night before sleeping turning his body tangible and intangible while he worked on Mika's hat, his own hat hanging down his back. He rarely went anywhere without it. He'd grown attached to the silly thing. Marco was clearly very happy he liked it and didn't think it was just stupid.

Ace went to bed with a headache that night, but didn't tell Marco. He thought it would go away during the night. When he woke up the next day, the headache was still there, and he winced when Marco turned the light on once both of them were awake. Marco, of course, easily noticed, and dimmed the light more.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"I had a headache last night and it never went away, I guess," Ace said. When Marco spoke, it hurt Ace's head and he dimmed the volume of what he was hearing so he could just barely hear Marco's voice.

"I'll go get some tea from the kitchen. It's early, no one should be there yet," he offered. Ace took the offer with a thanks and laid back down on the bed. Ace just barely saw a little flame on Marco's back reach towards him, meaning the phoenix was worried as well. He expected it. Though the flames no longer came out without Marco's control, every now and then they would spark, especially whenever Marco hurt Ace during training. The phoenix got mad that Marco was hurting Ace, and the sayla thought it was cute.

Marco came back a few minutes later, and when the door opened, the pain in Ace's head flared and he felt some sort of vibration in his head, something he'd never felt before. He was worried the chip was malfunctioning. Marco caught his attention by stumbling a bit to the side, barely keeping hold of the tea.

"Marco?" Ace asked in worry, forgetting the pain in his head as Marco's eyes were a bit dazed. "Are you okay?" Marco righted himself and shook his head slightly. He looked at Ace in bewilderment, and Ace worried he'd hurt him somehow and now the commander was mad at him for it.

The man closed the bedroom door and handed Ace the mug of tea, even if a few drops had spilled over the side when Marco lost balance. Ace slowly drank the tea, but the headache was still there. "Ace, on your world did they have something called 'haki'?" Marco questioned slowly.

"You mean when you are able to kick me?"

"No, one that knocks people out with just a thought. You can't see it like armament haki, just like you can't see observation haki. It's called 'conquering haki' and is very rare. Have you heard of it?" Ace shook his head. He knew no one at his home had any haki. Some could turn themselves into metal, but Marco had told him that was different than haki. "Hmm…" Marco said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ace asked, not knowing where this conversation was going. The tea was good and warmed him up from the inside.

"I think you just used it," Marco said calmly. "It raises a lot more questions than it answers. I only stayed standing because of my strength. A lesser man would have passed out." Ace frowned, and apologized, that he didn't mean to do it. Marco put a hand on his shoulder. "Often, those who awaken it cannot control it at first. It takes time and training to master it. You've felt it before. When Shanks came aboard, and you fell out of the crowsnest."

Ace remembered the feeling. Like one of his sleep attacks though more sudden. He couldn't feel it before it happened. "Is it bad that I have it?" he asked quietly. "I don't want to cause problems for anyone."

Marco pressed his forehead to Ace's. "It's a not a bad thing to have. You could help protect yourself and others if you master it. You have many weapons, Ace. Your original powers of sound, the devil fruit, hand to hand combat _and _haki. If you were a fighter, you could be a powerhouse someday. But no one will pressure you to be one. You should just feel better that you can protect yourself if anyone comes after you." Ace nodded. He was glad he might not have to depend on others to keep him safe. He wanted to be useful and not a burden, no matter if people said he wasn't one.

None of the crew ever said anything negative about his pacifism. Well, he thought people should fight back if it was for their lives, he just didn't want to do so himself. He'd never take pride in hurting someone. His powers were convenient for that. He could render anyone unable to move by turning up the sound around them. He knew he could blow eardrums as well if he turned the volume up and then clapped. The injury would be temporary, but he would hurt someone regardless.

"I hope I don't lose control of it and make people pass out and hit their heads," Ace said sadly. He wasn't happy with this ability if it hurt people he cared about.

"Don't worry about that. All these idiots have hard heads. And if they can survive pirate attacks and marine attacks, falling asleep will be no problem. Now, has your headache faded at all?" Ace nodded.

"It faded after I accidentally used the thing," he replied. "I'll go take a shower and get dressed."

Marco looked nervous before asking Ace if he wanted to use his bathroom since the lights would be less harsh than in the bathhouse. Ace's face turned dark blue, but he wasn't uncomfortable by Marco asking. It wasn't like he would just walk into the bathroom as Ace showered. So, Ace agreed. Marco smiled, and went to go get Ace a clean pair of shorts and his shoes.

Ace easily figured out how to work Marco's shower. The way they worked was much less advanced than at home where one touch button changed the temperature of the water instead of having to turn the handle until it was warm enough or cool enough.

He hurried through the shower, washing his hair and body quickly before taking the fluffy towel from one of the cupboards in the wall. It was bigger than he was used to, more like a blanket, but it did get him dry.

Ace opened the door a crack and peeked out of it and into the bedroom. Marco wasn't there, but Ace's shorts, hat and underwear were, and he quickly snatched them up and went back into the bathroom to dress.

The headache hadn't come back, thankfully. It had been very painful. He left the room, sticking his head out of the room first, making sure the hall lights didn't bring back the headache. He brought the towel with him to the wash room and put it in the massive hamper. He put the hat over his still slightly damp hair and headed to the galley. He wondered where Marco was. Probably telling Whitebeard about the new development.

He hoped it wouldn't cause any problems.

* * *

**Tada! I bet you weren't expecting Ace to just suddenly develop haki! Ace is OP in this, but it will show later why he's different from other OP characters I've written before. See you next week!**


	15. An Unexpected Visit

**There may be some typos in this chapter. Longer chapter this time. Enjoy~**

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Marco had brought Ace's things to the bathroom door before leaving the room and heading down the hall a short ways to Pops' room. He should know before anyone else. Thatch wasn't awake yet, as Marco felt his presence in his room, sleeping. People felt different when they slept. Their presence slightly weaker but not by much.

To say the phoenix zoan was shocked was an understatement. He'd never expected Ace to unlock any sort of haki, as he wasn't human or even from that world. And it raised a question: was it something only about the people on earth who had haki? Ace said those on his planet did not, yet here he was, wielding conqueror's haki. Fishman had haki, like Jinbei, but he was born on earth, on land or otherwise.

Marco worried, though. Would haki be too much for Ace's system? After all, he'd had a bad headache before it happened. And he also wondered if Ace would unlock the easier types. He started off with the hardest, surely he could handle the others… right? The whole thing had Marco uneasy, maybe unnecessarily. Time would tell.

He knocked on Pops' door, and felt the man sit up, probably wondering who was at the door until he realized with his haki once his senses cleared. "Come in," he said in a gruff voice, and Marco entered, closing the door quietly behind him. "What is it, son?" he asked in worry, seeing Marco's pinched expression.

Marco got straight to the point, "Ace has awakened conquerors haki. It does not reach very far, I think, but it almost knocked me out. He had a headache beforehand and it left after he used it." Whitebeard was just as surprised as Marco was. Though much, much more intrigued. He wasn't overcome with worry over Ace like Marco was.

"How did he take it?" the captain asked. It must have been overwhelming to Ace.

"He worried that he would knock someone out and they would hit their heads. I tried to explain to him that this would be a good thing, but he doesn't seem happy about it. We'll still need to help him control it," Marco replied. Whitebeard cracked a grin. He was unsurprised that Ace worried about others instead of being happy he had such a rare power.

Whitebeard gave his son a reassuring look. "There's nothing that can get better by you worrying, son. I know it's hard not to worry about someone you love, but it will do no good, and will just upset Ace as well. Both not liking he's making you worry and fear for himself." Marco nodded, agreeing. But it would be hard not to worry, especially because he had been in pain before releasing the wave of haki.

"It is too bad he doesn't like to fight, as he would be quiet the fighter, and eligible for commander. He could have been second division commander, finally filling that damn empty seat."

"I don't think hearing that would make him happy," Marco warned, not wanting the captain to mention it and make Ace feel guilty, that he was unable to be helpful because he could not fill a spot that needed to be. Whitebeard nodded, and said he wasn't going to say it to anyone, but it was just what he was thinking.

Marco leaned back against the door and sighed. "I also worry that other types of haki will awaken with no control. We all learned haki by a long process. Surely, observation haki would be completely overwhelming if it just suddenly showed up. I think it might scare him," the first mate said in concern. He didn't want Ace scared, it would hurt his heart.

"I think we should at least tell the commanders about this," the captain said. Marco nodded. They deserved to know. He didn't know what Kingdew, Fossa and Atmos would think. Besides them, the others had no issue with Ace anymore. Marco, Thatch, Izo, Haruta and Vista were those who liked Ace the most, even if Vista didn't talk to him much.

Marco asked if they should have the meeting before breakfast or after. Thatch was probably already getting ready in his room to go to the kitchen, where Ace had probably gone, as he was no longer in the bedroom. "After breakfast. I am starved and I think the meeting would go better if we weren't all hungry."

"Okay, then I'm gonna go. Ace probably already went to the galley to eat," Marco said. "I'll do the newest report tonight and get it in by tomorrow morning."

Whitebeard chuckled. "Your report is not due for another four days. I know you like to show that Ace doesn't interfere with your duties, but you don't need to be overzealous as long as you get it done before the due date." Marco nodded, but would still get it done early. "Marco. I am sorry I may have seemed to have doubted your ability to be with Ace and be first mate and commander at the same time."

Marco smiled, glad he'd heard that. It had stung a little when he saw the doubt in his father about his dedication to his position. "I forgive you, Pops. I was pretty clingy and distracted at the beginning." He laughed at it. Now, it was easy to balance all of his priorities, even if Ace was one of the top ones.

He headed to the galley, already dressed, and walked quickly. When he entered, Ace was indeed at the bar counter, head in his hands. It was a bad warning, and Marco hurried over and sat next to him, putting his hand on Ace's back, rubbing comforting circles. He leaned forward to see Ace's expression next to him. His eyes were wide, mouth in a firm line. "Is the headache back?" Marco asked quietly. Thatch had not arrived yet. Ace shook his head.

"There's stuff moving everywhere," he whispered. "Like ghosts all around the ship." Marco frowned; he was right.

"That is probably observation haki. You can feel moving presences much better than still ones," Marco explained, keeping the worry out of his voice well. Ace looked up, brows furrowed.

He looked confused, and frightened. "I thought it took a lot of training to get to haki and stuff?" he asked. Marco and Thatch had indeed told him that when he'd asked about it all those months ago.

The commander nodded. "That is true for humans. You're not a human, so we don't know the capabilities of haki with you. You may be able to use it expertly after getting used to it since you've skipped the entire process of awakening them. Now you just need to get used to them and be in control. It must be scary, to feel things moving all around you but being unable to see them. Learning gradually would have helped you slowly get used to the feeling. But it came suddenly. Learning will be different with you."

"Am I in danger?" Ace asked. "Are others in danger?"

Marco put his hand on Ace's cheek. "Observation will hurt no one, and conquerors haki may interfere with things. I don't know what will happen, so we will just have to see, and face whatever comes with resolve. Try not to worry. I know that's not for _me _to say, but it won't help to be worried about everything." Ace nodded, and stiffened when he must have felt Thatch enter.

"Yo, guys! You're here pretty early," Thatch said with a yawn, dressed and with his hair styled. Marco knew Ace trusted Thatch as much as him, so he wasn't surprised when the sayla immediately told Thatch what had happened. "Really? All of the sudden you can use haki?! Hey, that's not fair, it took me years to get the hang of it!" he complained loudly. He huffed as he cooked maple sausages from the refrigerator, adding spices and grumbling under his breath. Of course, Ace could hear it.

"I didn't _want _to," he said a bit sadly. Thatch turned around, looking regretful.

"I'm sorry, Ace. That was insensitive. I know it must be freaky to suddenly have those abilities, but once you get the hang of them, it'll be pretty helpful! Even if it's for everyday things, observation haki can be super useful! You just gotta learn how to control it and you'll be set. Though I wonder if you've also activated armament haki?" Thatch wondered as he went back to cooking, moving the pan around expertly, putting sauce in the pan to mix with the meat.

Like always, Thatch's food smelled delicious, and it distracted Ace. The thick sausages were served to Ace, along with a plate of french toast. It was the quickest part of the meal to make, the french toast. Marco took his omelet happily as Ace stuffed his face. When Ace was stressed, he ate faster and more. Marco had noticed that long ago.

When more people started trickling in, Ace tensed, feeling so many people so close to him. He finished breakfast quickly before leaving the room in a hurry. Marco left his food and hurried after, not wanting to leave Ace alone when he was panicked and confused. He was very jumpy, and looked miserable.

"Ace, let's go to the crows nest," Marco offered kindly, and walked with the young man to the crows nest, which he climbed quickly. Marco was supposed to go in a meeting, but commanders were still eating. He had some time with Ace.

Ace curled into a ball, his knees up to his chin. "I don't like it," he mumbled. Marco frowned, feeling bad for Ace.

"I know it won't make it feel any better now, but you'll get used to it. There is no way to unlearn any type of haki. You can choose not to use it a lot, but it will always be there," Marco said, hand on Ace's shoulder as he sat on the bench and Ace on the floor. Ace deflated at the news. He started rubbing his temples, and moaned. "Headache again?" Ace nodded.

Marco looked over the side and saw no one was on deck so no one would be affected with a burst of conquerors haki. "No one is around, you can relax. I'll be fine as long as I'm prepared. That idiot Shanks does it every time he comes, I'm used to it," he said in a soothing voice. He hoped Ace didn't hear any pity in his voice, as that wasn't his intention. Ace scrunched up his eyes, and Marco knew he was trying to hold it in. He was incredibly worried about this. Not for anyone else's safety, but for Ace's mental health. He had been so happy lately.

He winced as he couldn't hold it in anymore and Marco felt a wave come out. He grit his teeth to not show any reaction from it. "See, I'm fine. The best thing we can do now is to get it under control. And you have many people here who are trained in haki to help you. You're not on your own in this, Ace."

Ace looked a little better after Marco was fine and assured him people were there to help him. "Does anyone else have that haki? The one that gives me a headache?" Marco nodded.

"Pops has it, but he prefers not to use it. It makes things too easy. I don't remember him ever using it in the last two decades, but he's had it since a child," Marco explained. "So, clearly he can control it if he hasn't used it in decades." Ace nodded, looking a little more at ease with everything Marco was saying.

"How do I turn off the observation haki?"

"You can't. You can choose _not _to use armament haki or conquering, but observation haki will stay with you whether you want it to or not. But, can't you tone down your hearing? Maybe you can use that same feeling to make you less sensitive to everywhere on the ship? How far can you feel? Do you feel everyone?" Marco highly doubted it, but he had to ask anyway. Even he couldn't feel all sixteen hundred pirates. But Ace nodded.

"And there are things in the water, too, swimming around," Ace replied. Marco was shocked. He couldn't tell anything was in the water from here. Ace looked up, and said, "It feels like there are people in the sky, too. Really high up. But people can't fly like that, right?" Marco composed himself before Ace looked at him. He couldn't let his shock show. Ace would think that there was something wrong with him.

He kept his voice very steady. "Well, there are islands in the sky. Above the clouds, that is. We visited there once, many many years ago. I didn't know there were any near this part of the Grand Line, but if you can feel people up there, then there are surely more sky islands here and there." Marco was amazed and reminded by this that Ace was an unknown. They would just need to see how things went and deal with them accordingly.

Thankfully, the islands in the sky distracted Ace. "What are they like?"

Marco smiled, and said, "Well, those we met have small wings coming from their backs. The ground is made of fluffy clouds, though they were thick enough to not fall through. There's a sea up there, the white sea, made of thin clouds that a ship can sail on." Ace asked how they got up there. "Well, the only way we know of it to be thrust up into the sky by a water phenomenon where a current bursts out of the ocean below you, and will rocket the ship upwards."

"Wow…"

"It wasn't fun for most of the crew, though. After all, they were all slammed into the back of the ship or cabin. I was the only one not freaking out since I was used to being in the sky," Marco explained happily, grateful for the distraction. He couldn't believe what he'd heard. It was one thing to feel everyone, another to feel what was in the ocean as well, but unfathomable that his haki could reach up that high.

"I wish I could go there. That would be a fun place to explore," Ace said. "A lot different than flying in a plane, though. Are there animals up there? That fly, too? Other than birds?"

Marco nodded. "There were wolves, a massive snake, some strange birds. Nothing too outlandish. No soaring monsters like at your home. Did you ever see the flying ones up close? I want to hear some more about your home," Marco asked, doing his best to keep Ace as distracted as he could for as long as possible.

"Well, there was one time when I was on a plane, and the side of the plane was clear, so we saw everything around us. There was a _lopha_, giant birds with two sets of wings. The pilot had to make a detour so they didn't collide with us. They would survive more than the plane would. It was scary, but really cool."

Ace was looking much better for a while, though his eyes kept flicking down as more people came out. They both heard Izo say, "Marco! Meeting time!" Both poked their heads over the side and Marco kissed Ace before going down.

"Try to relax. Maybe focus on only those in the sky if you can still feel them. Try to relax. I'll be back soon." Ace nodded and watched as Marco dropped down and landed gracefully on the deck. Marco felt his phoenix grow angry at him for leaving Ace in a distressed state. But he had to have the meeting, now more than ever since he learned about the range of Ace's observation haki.

He entered the meeting room with a pinched face on. Everyone was already sitting down, so Izo and Marco went to their seats. "I'll get to the point. Ace has unlocked two types of haki overnight. Observation and conquerors." The table burst into disbelieving statements until Pops hushed them. "This morning, Ace woke up with a painful headache. I almost was knocked out by the haki, and after that, his head felt better. It happened a second time when we were in the crows nest just now. It was weaker than the first, but still would have knocked out our weaker members."

"Then this is a danger. We have to have him trained," Namur said. Marco nodded in agreement.

"Not only for our safety, but Ace's mental health. He's terrified it'll knock someone out and they'll get hurt or hit their heads after falling. Pops can use it, so we should have him try to teach Ace restraint," Marco explained.

"What about-?" Thatch asked, and Marco stopped him.

"I'm getting there. So, the observation haki is a problem. It scared him, he said things were moving all around him but he couldn't see them. I took him out to the crows nest while everyone was still eating. Pops? Do you know of any sky islands in the New World? In this part?" Marco asked, making them wonder what sky islands had to do with this.

"There are islands that float about the world, and aren't locked in one place. I would not be surprised if some floated over the New World. Why do you ask?" the captain questioned curiously.

"Ace can not only feel the creatures _under _the ship in the water, he said there were people walking around in the sky."

It was silence until an uproar started. As far as anyone knows, no one had observation haki that sensitive or with that range. Some believed Ace was just making things up, but Izo prompted that Ace didn't even know people could live in the sky, so why would he _lie _that there were when he didn't know?

"Pops, has anyone ever had haki that advanced?" Haruta asked. Pops shook his head.

"Not even I have anything close to that range. Roger didn't, either. I don't think anyone has. Sky Islands are tens of thousands of meters into the sky. I do not think Ace is lying, or has a reason to. But we must remember Ace isn't human and wasn't born here," the captain said. "But it also raises questions about the way our world works. Had Ace had haki all along, or did coming here change that?" Marco said that no one on Ace's planet had haki in any type.

"Does it really matter? Ace is really upset! We have to help him," Thatch said, concerned dripping from his voice.

Haruta agreed. "Yeah, it doesn't matter how it happened, it did and now we have to help him. At least with the conqueror's haki. Observation haki doesn't go away, he'll have to get used to that one," the smallest commander said. A few others agreed.

Blenheim was the one to point out the only positive of his overpowered observation haki. "We will now know if any enemies are coming near since he has that range. He'll be able to tell," he said in a gruff voice. Haruta snapped how that matters. "I mean, you know how much he wants to feel useful. Wouldn't early detection of any threats make him feel useful and helpful? Something he can do to help all of us without him risking hurting himself or anyone else." The table fell silent, no one having thought about that.

Marco smiled. Maybe that would make Ace feel better. And he'd be able to tell if any huge sea kings were approaching from the bottom. He wasn't losing control by feeling everything, he was gaining control of situations that could not happen if he didn't have that ability. "That's a great point, Blenheim," Marco said with a grateful voice. Haruta apologized for snapping.

"We'll do what we can to help him, but we will also not coddle him or act like he is a crying child, no matter how he may be feeling. Ace is an adult, and we must treat him with respect. Yes, he is sensitive, but he is not a child. I don't want anyone showing pity," the captain commanded. The others agreed, and the second Pops dismissed them, Thatch and Marco ran out, heading towards the crows nest to tell Ace about how useful he could be.

For normal people, telling someone something upsetting was making them _useful _would be mocking at least and cruel at most. But for Ace, who longed to be useful and help them out when he could, it might just salvage the situation until he could be properly taught to control his new powers.

"Ace!" Thatch called. When Ace looked over the side, still up there, Marco and his brother started to climb up the ratlines. Marco didn't fly. Ace was worrying the string of his hat between his fingers.

"How'd the meeting go?" he asked. He clearly knew it must have been about him, or was at least guessing. Both men knew that he wouldn't eavesdrop on an important meeting. That would go against his beliefs and they didn't for a second even consider that might be what happened.

"Pops will train you on control with your conquering haki. And your advanced observation haki could help us. You can detect if any bad guys are coming, pirates or marines. Or even large sea kings that might be a threat," Thatch said cheerfully. Marco didn't expect any response than what he'd gotten. Ace smiled at the prospect of being helpful.

Marco pushed Ace's hat back and rubbed his head. "So it's not all bad, right?" Ace nodded, a new outlook on the scary observation haki. He could help the crew in a way only he could. "But, we'll practice on making it not so overwhelming. While it won't be going anywhere, you can get used to it and eventually only focus on certain distances."

Ace nodded. When he winced, and grabbed his head, Marco told Thatch to sit down. He was confused before he remembered that Ace had used the haki after his head hurt. Marco leaned over the edge of the crowsnest, and shouted for everyone below to sit or lay down. No one questioned the first mate's judgement, and laid down, confused.

A minute later, they were all passed out, with Thatch looking a bit dazed and Marco looking fine. Ace sighed, no longer happy. Marco looked at the back deck and saw that those on the middle deck and further were still conscious, and hadn't been knocked out. Meaning that the range of Ace's conquerors haki was not as extreme as his observation. He pointed it out, and Ace just sighed.

"C'mon, you'll get used to it and then it will be super cool," Thatch encouraged. "Maybe you can even knock that damn Red Hair out before he does it to us first." Marco laughed. That would be entertaining. "Besides, it'd be payback for when he made you fall over the side and plummet to the deck."

Ace frowned. "Why did he do that? It could hurt somebody if they didn't know it was coming," he pointed out, looking a little sour at someone who would risk others' health for no real reason.

Marco shrugged and Thatch said, "He just does it to show his power and be a shit to Pops. No matter how much we tell him not to, he always does. Then, without fail, every time he asks Marco to join his crew, like the dozens of 'no's will suddenly change into a 'yes'. Idiot."

"Don't worry, I won't ever leave this crew," he said casually. If Ace left, Marco didn't know what he'd do. He loved Ace, but he loved his family, too. And despite how much he treasured Ace, he would most likely stay with his family and promise to visit Ace, even though he'd be miserable for a while without the sayla. But, there was no need to bring that up.

Especially since the safest place for Ace is with strong people, and who was stronger than the Whitebeard pirates?

Marco noticed Ace's eyelids drooping and went over to catch him before he passed out. His flames licked Marco's hands. Something that rarely happened unless Marco brought his flames out first. He must be feeling a lot of anxiety, not that anyone could blame him. For someone who'd never really known what haki was much, to suddenly have it would be disconcerting.

"I'm gonna take him to his room," Marco said. "Hopefully he won't wake up from all the presences we will walk past. But at least his room is in a different part of the ship than most others."

Thatch said, "Not that it matters if he can feel people thousands of meters away." Marco knew he had a point, but didn't have a reply. He picked Ace up in his arms and jumped down. Since he needed his arms to fly with, he was only able to carry things with his legs. But, jumping from that height would not injure him. And he landed softly.

Marco quickly walked to Ace's room, and tucked him in. He frowned softly, worrying about his partner. Though Ace was sensitive emotionally, it didn't mean he was weak and couldn't overcome this. Especially since he had help, like he did with his heart problem. Which Marco was also worried about. If the stress would hurt his heart or if his fruit would be there to help.

Time would only tell.

-x-

Ace had a headache the rest of the day, going against Marco's words and trying to keep it in. The light hurt, the sound hurt. So, he covered his eyes and muted the room. He was in Marco's room while he wasn't there, far from where most of the crew was. Only the commanders and captain (and Ace) went near the commanders' room hallway.

He winced as the headache grew worse. But, by now he was afraid that if he let go, it would be worse since it was being kept inside for the last four hours. Thatch had brought him the food, and Ace it in the dark silence. He missed other people though. He wanted to go hang out with his friends, work on Mika's hat. But the headache, now a migraine, was too bad and would interfere with work.

Izo had told him to take a break for his health. No one was forced to do something if it was bad for their health, and Ace was grateful for that. It was 7:00 when he finally couldn't hold it anymore, and whimpered as it finally was released. He sighed, his head feeling much better. He didn't know how many, if any, people had been affected.

He left to return the plate of food to the kitchen since his headache was now gone. But, the moment he got out of the commanders' hall, he found Marco passed out against the wall. "Marco!" Ace shouted and ran over, dishes forgotten. He knelt next to Marco, trying to get him to wake up.

Tears were down Ace's cheek before Marco stirred, waking up finally. "I'm sorry!" Ace sobbed. Marco automatically took him into his arms. If Marco was knocked out, Ace knew everyone else would be as well. They both felt a strong presence walking down the halway and towards them.

"Pops, is everyone knocked out?" Marco asked. Ace looked frightened and very guilty when the captain nodded.

"I'm the only one left conscious. We have to teach Ace how to control it. Holding it back was not a good idea. Next time, release it as soon as the headache forms. It may knock people out but not the entire ship, which is very dangerous in case an attack happens and everyone is unconscious." Ace's face crumpled, and he apologized quietly. Whitebeard took pity on him.

"I doubt anyone got hurt this time. I know it must be scary, but we have to face it head on, not try to run from it or ignore it and hope nothing happens," he said kindly. Marco nodded in agreement. Ace didn't see, since he was looking at the floor beneath his knees.

"Okay," he said quietly.

Marco smiled, and then offered to go and wake up the pirates, not knowing how long they'd be asleep. Ace felt guilty everytime they came across someone knocked out with their eyes open. They looked dead, and it really scared Ace. Those that woke up went to wake others up. It was good dinner was over so the burners were off. Thatch had probably already woken up, and was in the kitchen. The commanders woke up before the others, and worked to help the lower pirates.

When Ace went out on deck, he heard people shouting at the side of the ship. Ace looked over the side and saw multiple sea kings floating just below the surface, not at the top, but not swimming either. Meaning Ace's haki reached off of the ship as well. It took them a longer time to wake up, and stayed in the same spot as the ship sailed away from them.

Ace sat against the railing and put his head in his hands, trying to calm his breathing and not to panic. He didn't want to be so overpowered. He wanted to just be able to not cause trouble for others and be able to manage himself. He just wanted to have fun with his friends, be with Marco, be useful in his own ways.

He did not want to be a risk to everyone. What if a fire had started and everyone was unconscious? What if there was a storm and the ship broke apart in it because no one was there to raise the sails?

While he was thinking, the captain called his name and Ace went to his chair, face set in a sad frown. "Try to move past what has happened. Keep looking to the future. I'd like to start your training as soon as possible. Right now." Ace nodded, fine with starting as soon as they could. "Sit child, and let me explain what conqueror's haki is. It is a rare form of haki, where the user can exert their willpower over others. It can knock out enemies and allies, though once you're experienced enough, you can knock out specific people. It might not work on those like the higher ups of the marines, or other yonko. But, that burst was incredibly strong to render the commanders unconscious.

"Though, that might not happen again as long as you don't hold it in until it's just too much for everyone on the ship. Normally, someone is born with this ability. But, your case is different. I have no explanation for how you developed it when you weren't born with the capability of it in the first place. One one in several million people are able to use it. If you are adept enough at it, you may be able to tame animals and even have them show affection for you.

"I know you don't want to hurt other people, or cause them trouble, so we will have a different outlook, a different goal. Would you like to tame animals? Make some more friends?" Ace nodded with a smile. That sounded nice. "Then we will aim for being in enough control to tame animals. It will still be needing to learn control, but your aim is not to be able to incapacitate other people. How's that sound?" Whitebeard asked with an understanding smile.

Ace nodded. Making friends while learning this made him more at ease than learning to only knock out certain people. He didn't want to knock anyone out. No matter if they were enemies, Ace didn't want to hurt anyone. Though, it would have been more convenient to knock out Teach instead of letting him destroy one of Ace's hearts.

"I want you to, the moment you have a headache, let up on it. Relax and don't try to hold it in or it may be more trouble. Being a few knocked out for a minute is much better than the whole crew all at once and for many minutes."

"What about falling?" Ace asked, worrying his hands on his hat, which he was holding.

"There is nothing you can do to soften their falls. I don't know what it's like on your planet, but humans are relatively sturdy. At least, pirates are," the captain replied. Ace knew those on his planet were stronger than humans based on the fact of Ace falling from the sky and surviving. So, his kind wouldn't be hurt by a bump to the head from falling. Brain injuries at his old home were quite rare, only a problem when it was some very, very intense accident.

Ace hoped Whitebeard wasn't just humoring him and was saying the truth about them being fine and durable. Ace's eyebrow twitched as the pressure in his head started to return. Whitebeard gave him a stern look, and Ace sighed, letting go. The person closest to him tripped, but did not fall unconscious and landed on his hands and knees.

"You alright, son?" the captain asked casually.

"Yeah, I'm fine. That was weird," he said, rubbing his nose. Ace thought everyone must have learned by now.

Apparently most of the did since the captain just explained to the pirate, Samuel, someone Ace didn't personally know, that Ace had awakened his haki and was out of control with it. "But, we're practicing now. Don't worry," Whitebeard said with a smile. Ace was so happy that the captain wasn't mad at him for rendering everyone unconscious. Surely, he was a liability?

"Don't look so sad. We're going to get it sorted out, don't worry," the man said in his gruff but kind voice.

"But… aren't I a liability?" Ace asked in a small, cautious voice. Whitebeard laughed.

"You may not consider me a father, but I do consider you as a son. I'd help my sons through any of their problems that I can." Ace surprised Whitebeard by turning around and hurrying inside. He silenced all of his noises so no one could hear him crying. He hoped the captain didn't know he was crying, but also knew he wasn't angry.

Whitebeard said it with such conviction. But, how would he help each son the same? Ace walked into Haruta on his way to the library and his corner to hide. "Ace? What's wrong, what happened?" the commander asked in concern. Ace shook his head and said he was fine, though he was sniffling with dark blue eyes when he cried. "Are you sure?" the human asked in uncertainty, not wanting to leave Ace crying by himself.

"I'm fine. It's nothing, no one made me upset," Ace insisted, and walked away. When he got to the library, he walked up the spiral stairs and to the nook that was private and usually empty since it only fit one person.

Ace quieted the area and cried into his hands. No one came in, and he was surprised that Whitebeard hadn't sent anyone in after him. But, he must know Ace wanted to be alone, and he did. Once he was composed, he wiped his eyes and nose, took some calming breaths and walked back outside.

Whitebeard was patiently waiting in the chair for him to come back out, and gave him a smile, like Ace hadn't run off on him with no word. "Sor-," Ace began, but the captain put a hand up.

"Nothing to apologize for. Now, would you like to resume practicing?" the man asked, putting what had happened behind him. Ace was grateful he didn't focus on what Ace had done. He needed to, but it was disrespectful. The sayla was glad that Whitebeard didn't think he'd done it to be disrespectful. He was more intuitive to Ace than he knew, since it wasn't as if the freckled young man talked to him much.

Ace nodded and sat down in front of the chair. Marco showed up while Ace was sitting with his eyes closed. Jozu was sitting nearby for Ace to practice on. Ace was glad that Whitebeard chose him since he worried about anyone hitting their heads and getting hurt. Jozu was made of diamond, hitting his head would not hurt him one bit.

Ace did as he was told and every time there was a pinch in his head, the feeling of pressure behind his eyes, he always let out an exhale that would release the pain or discomfort. Most of the time, it did not knock Jozu over, and definitely didn't render him unconscious.

"See, Ace? With practice and management, it's close to being harmless. As long as you don't let it accumulate, I don't think there will be another accidental ship-wide burst of haki. You just need control," the captain said kindly, and Ace smiled and nodded.

Ace opened his eyes as a new feeling came in the back of his head. He'd been overcome by the presences all around him (the presences in the sky had faded a while ago) and had trouble telling them apart besides Whitebeard, but he felt another one poking at his head that wasn't there before.

"There's something coming closer from that way," Ace said, pointing to the south. "I think," he added, just in case he was wrong he wouldn't seem like a total idiot. Whitebeard believed him even if none of them could see it.

"Many people?" Ace shook his head. "How many?" the captain asked. Ace held up one finger. "Ah, then it's probably Jinbei. Haven't seen him in a while."

Ace didn't know who Jinbei was, but didn't ask. Someone might have said something about this person and Ace forgot. "Jinbei is a fishman ally, like Namur. He's also a warlord of the seas. A powerful position for a pirate within the marines and World Government. But Jinbei's a good man. He only holds the position for help for his island," Jozu explained, no longer diamond since the training was on halt.

"Should I hide? He's from the marines, they want me, right?" Ace asked, watching the place he felt the fishman coming from. He assumed the fishman, Jinbei, was under the water.

"There's no need, but if you're more comfortable, then change into your more human colors," the captain replied. Jibei was coming faster and closer, so Ace assumed more of the pirates were now feeling the presence, since many commanders had arrived and were at the side of the ship that the visitor was coming to.

Ace started to walk inside before an arm wrapped around his waist. "How'd the training go?"

"You have a visitor," Ace pointed out, not thinking it was prudent to talk about the training.

"I know. Doesn't mean I don't want to know how it's been going," Marco said lightly. The phoenix zoan frowned when Ace changed into human skin colors, the gold of his eyes fading and dimming into gray. Ace smiling lightly at Marco's words. Clearly, the man knew how Ace was not feeling great today.

"As long as I don't hold it in, not much happens. I sorta… quit and walked away and left to, um, c-cry," Ace confessed, face bright blue. Even if the skin color was human, his blood was still a blue color. It just made him look sick. Marco kissed his forehead. He quietly asked what had happened.

"It's not stupid if it made you upset," the first mate said quietly at Ace's response.

"He said he considers me a son. So why wouldn't he help me?"

"Why did that make you cry?" Marco asked, he and Ace now at the side of the ship, away from the crowd about to greet Jinbei. Ace looked like he didn't want to answer. "Is it because you've never had a good parent? One that showed any love?" the commander guessed softly.

Ace grit his teeth. He didn't want to talk or think about this. Marco might say he'd been over reacting all this time. But, he knew Marco enough to know he'd never make light of Ace's feelings, whatever they were.

"You don't need to tell me if you don't want to," Marco said firmly, positioning Ace's face to look at him. "And you don't need to tell me _now _if you ever do want to. This family cares about you a lot, Ace. They don't mind that you don't see them as family, but it's impossible for them not to consider you as family. You can't change these idiots' minds over something like that." He said it fondly, so Ace knew Marco wasn't insulting his loved ones.

Ace sighed. He didn't want a new family. He'd had one good one and one mediocre one at best. He didn't want another disappointment, but he also was afraid of getting a good one. He knew there were wrong things in his head. He saw some things skewed. But he didn't know how to change that and didn't want to bring the issue up to anyone.

The Whitebeards had welcomed him, and he enjoyed being with them. He was just too scared to fully accept them as family. He didn't know if or when he ever would. Ace could feel the fishman getting nearer and said, "I don't want to talk about it now. I'm so-"

Marco put his finger against Ace's lips. "Don't apologize," he said softly. "You have nothing to apologize for. Someday, we'll talk about this, but only when you're ready. I know you trust me, but trusting someone doesn't mean spilling your deepest secrets to them. We all know that. I love you."

Ace sniffled, and said, "I love you, too." Marco smiled and put his arm around Ace's waist.

"Let's go introduce you to Jinbei. He's the most trustworthy guy the ship knows, even more than that idiot Shanks," Marco said, and led Ace to the side. Ace saw a splash of water and then a thump as the fishman landed on deck. He was much bigger than Ace was. Over a meter taller. He was a fishman like Namur, but they looked very different. Namur once explained to him that fishmen had all different attributes of marine creatures. It made Ace wonder what Jinbei was.

"Jinbei, nice to see you again," Marco said happily. Ace tried to move away, but his grip on his waist was tight. Marco wasn't gonna let Ace run away. "This is our newest member, Ace," the phoenix zoan said happily. Ace couldn't tell if it was fake or not. If he was trying to cheer Ace up.

"Nice to meet you, Ace. My name is Jinbei. I'm a warlord but am friends with the old man. That's funny. I thought from your wanted poster that you had blue skin," he said, sounding confused and curious.

Ace changed the color of his hand to blue. "I can change the color of my skin." It wasn't a lie, but Ace didn't know him personally, and to be honest, his affiliation with the marines, and therefore World Government, made him uneasy. But the fishman wasn't nosy, and just said that it was interesting.

When the captain glanced at Ace, he noticed the pained look on his face. "Ace, what did we agree on?" he prompted, but patiently. Ace's cheeks turned blue, and he sighed. Some of the pirates nearby stumbled, but it wasn't strong enough yet for anyone to pass out. Jinbei looked confused, but had no doubt felt the haki.

"Ace is still practicing on his conquerors haki," Marco explained simply. Jinbei looked at Marco and Ace, how Marco was holding the younger man close, side to side and his hand rubbing circles on Ace's ribcage slowly. "Yes?" he asked, noticing the look easily.

"No, it's nothing," Jinbei said. Marco smiled pleasantly.

"Ace and I are together," he said simply. Jinbei raised his eyebrows, and Ace remembered that Marco adnt been in a relationship since joining the crew thirty years ago. Maybe it was weird to him? Ace didn't understand the look, but said nothing about it.

"So, Jinbei, what brings you here?" the captain asked in light interest. The fishman turned away from Marco and Ace and back to Whitebeard. Marco kissed Ace's forehead absentmindedly.

"I was actually in the area and sensed your ship," the fisman explained. Ace was surprised he had as good as haki as Ace did, but could control it, or at least deal with it without freaking out like Ace had been. He felt a bit embarrassed. Marco noticed something was wrong and started to soothing circles again, making him sigh and lean into the zoan's side, resting his head on his shoulder, hat falling down onto his back.

"Well, anyway, it's good to see you again, my friend," Whitebeard said happily. "Would you like to stay for the day?" the captain asked with a big smile. Jinbei seemed close with the Whitebeards to Ace. And the fishman looked happy to stay and took up his offer. "I will have to be distracted for some of the day to help Ace with training his haki."

Jinbei nodded. "I do not wish to get in anyone's way. And it's nice to meet you, Ace," he said, and reached out to shake Ace's much smaller hand. He shook it strongly. Jinbei went to talk to Marco when Ace returned to Whitebeard's chair to practice some more. He felt hope that he might be able to control it. Do as little damage as he could for now. He didn't like the headaches one bit. He'd never gotten them before, but was very happy there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the chip.

"Ace, you can return to your normal colors if you wish. Jinbei is trustworthy, you can trust him. I know you don't like looking human," the captain said with a smile. Ace nodded and let his body go back to the blue with white freckles. It felt so much better to be himself.

-x-

Marco sat on the cabin, watching the crew since Pops was distracted. Marco was distracted, too, wondering what made Ace reject the notion of a father so vehemently. Surely he must realize by now that the captain truly cared for him.

He had gathered long ago that Ace didn't want a huge family like this, he wanted a close knit group to call family, which was why he didn't branch off so much. Stayed with Marco, Thatch, Mika, Nick, and sometimes Izo and Haruta. He socialized with the others in his division, but he still spent most of his time, when he wasn't alone, with the same people.

Ace liked to socialize, but did not branch out like most of the crew had. By the first month, most of those on the crew had many, many friends that they then called brothers. They soaked in the company of so many. Marco worried sometimes, that Ace would never be happy there. And if he was faking now. He was good at hiding his feelings when he felt he couldn't talk to anyone about them, even Marco.

The phoenix took nothing from this at a jab at himself. Ace didn't not talk to him about this because he didn't trust Marco, he knew that was the truth. Ace loved him, like he loved Ace. He knew that for sure. The man wanted to know so badly _why _Ace was insistent on rejecting family. It couldn't just be because he didn't want to betray his brothers, even if that was part of it.

He was lost in his thoughts when Jinbei approached, and sat next to him. They didn't speak for a while as they both watched Ace practice with the captain. "So, you've finally found someone?" the fishman asked, breaking the silence. Marco nodded. "Can I ask the story?"

Marco smiled. "Ace fell out of the sky and injured himself. Thatch brought him back to the ship to treat him. Some of us grew quite attached, so we kept him. He saved Thatch's life, took a knife to the heart by Teach. He's dead now," Marco explained casually.

Jinbei looked confused. "He fell out of the sky? How on earth did that happen?" he asked in bewilderment.

"It was an accident. He was in space and accidentally fell into the atmosphere," Marco said, purposely being vague and confusing the usually unshakable fishman. Damn, Thatch was rubbing off on him.

The fishman gave him a look, clearly irritated with his vague explanations that gave very little information. "Ace isn't from this planet. Or this galaxy. That's why he has blue skin, he's not human." Jinbei looked shocked before he composed himself, like usual.

"So, he's an alien, then?"

Marco nodded. "But don't say that around him. It's a derogatory word for his kind." Jinbei then asked about what happened with the traitor. After all, he'd met Teach before and hadn't noticed his fakery either. Though, if the captain didn't see it, then Jinebi hadn't seen it. Though, Ace had. Not believing him would always haunt Marco. He still blamed himself for Ace's injury. Always would, most likely.

"Thatch found a devil fruit that Teach had apparently been looking for and was the only reason he joined the crew. So, he tried to kill Thatch for it. Ace got in the way, having noticed his unsettling behavior first. Teach destroyed one of Ace's hearts, so now he has long term health problems. Has trouble doing any sort of long term physical activity. He didn't fight Teach, but shielded Thatch.

"Ace is a pacifist, doesn't like hurting or being cruel to anyone. Even though he could be very powerful if he wanted, he doesn't want to. His planet was very different than ours. He was shocked by humans' cruelty and disrespect for one another. It's been a difficult adjustment for him," Marco explained thoroughly.

Jinbei looked surprised at everything, but asked, "A pacifist on a pirate ship?"

Marco laughed. "The only one. He suddenly unlocked haki and all he cared about was not having someone fall and hit their heads because of him. He doesn't even want to fight enemies, and would rather run than hurt someone. He doesn't care about being called a coward as long as no one is hurt. He strongly dislikes the marines and world government after we told him about Celestial Dragons, but he still wouldn't hurt anyone if he could avoid it."

"Well, he definitely isn't from earth then. I don't think I've ever met someone like that. Even Queen Otohime, someone incredibly kind, would slap people until her hand bled," the fishman replied. Saying it all, Marco knew how out of place Ace was. But, it was for his safety that he stayed, and because he loved Marco and Thatch. He hadn't asked to leave. Yet. Marco hoped he wouldn't. There was nowhere else he'd be welcomed for who he truly was. They'd call him a freak, probably turn him into the government.

There was also the very real risk that, if the Whitebeards let him go, another yonko would attempt to take him. Force him to join them, or perhaps, in Big Mom's case, would just put him on display as a unique creature. Thinking of Ace trapped in some cell for others to ogle at made him feel dread inside. Marco would never let anything like that happen to him. Ever, and neither would anyone else in the crew.

"Yeah, and still, not everyone here likes him. He had a similar reaction by the crew like Namur had for being a fishman. Some of our crew harassed him physically to try and show his 'true colors'. He forgave them quickly, even if he had trouble moving on from it."

"So he joined reluctantly, then?" Jinbei asked, not surprised by the treatment of someone from another world by people who looked down on a species of their own planet that wasn't human either.

Marco nodded. "And he refuses to join the family. He's part of the crew. Doesn't want anyone to call him brother or have to call Pops as Pops. Calls him Whitebeard," he said a bit sadly. When Jinbei asked why, Marco shrugged.

Jinbei then asked what kind of abilities Ace had, since Marco had said he would be strong if he wanted to be. He had never met someone who was like Ace. To be honest, he sounded naive and out of place. But everyone was clearly fond of him, even if they weren't at the beginning.

"Sayla, Ace's kind, are born with abilities like devil fruits. Ace can manipulate soundwaves. Can turn down the volume or silence a space. He can also make things explode by sending soundwaves from his mouth at them. I've only seen him use it twice. He ate a fire logia, and was physically strong before his injury. Now he awakened haki out of nowhere, even though he wasn't born here, and wasn't born with conqueror's haki. He's very smart, as well. So, he has the making of a very powerful fighter, but he just doesn't want to.

"And I don't want him to change from that. I don't want him to become like a human. I love him like he is," Marco said, the last part sounding a bit sad.

Jinbei frowed. "Someone like this should not change who they are for pressure of others."

"Don't worry, Ace may be sensitive emotionally, but he takes pride in the fact that he is kind and honest. I don't think he'll be changing anytime soon."

"If he has done nothing violent of some sort, why does he have a bounty? And a high one, at that," the fishman questioned. They were still watching Ace, though he had a sleep attack and fell backwards, sleeping with his arms wide out.

Marco's expression turned from fond to sour and angry at the question. He was so mad that Ace had a bounty just because of his skin color. No one even knew that he wasn't human, he just was blue and that made the nobles want him. It was bullshit and Marco was still furious about it.

"He's blue, and a Celestial Dragon took interest in him. So they wanted to keep him for themselves. And if Ace had been alone, he would have been taken. He passed out, in blue, in front of a World Noble. It was a blessing I was there and could get him away safely." That had been very scary for Marco, how vulnerable Ace had been while asleep. If he was put in sea stone, it would have been over. And maybe deadly considering he reacted with hives to any sea stone touching him.

Jinbei looked disgusted, as he should be. Celestial Dragons were the scum of the earth, not pirates. Sure, pirates could be awful, but so could any other human. The Celestial Dragons were worse because they could do whatever cruelties they wanted and get away with it, having the support of the entire military of the world. It was a bad set up for everyone but the World Nobles.

"Ace hated humans at first. Thought we were evil, cruel creatures. He was partly right. His world was basically a utopia, and highly advanced in technology compared to us. It was a culture shock when he arrived and everything was rudimentary, in his words. There were no wars on his planet, and discrimination was almost non-existent due to the fact that multiple planets mingled. It would be like if a human was partnered with a fishman but there was no stigma about it," Marco explained. He looked to the side and said, "You can't tell anyone about this, Jinbei. We don't want anyone to know the truth about him."

"I swear on my life I will not repeat anything you have told me. Thank you for telling me, I appreciate your trust. It means a great deal to me." Marco smiled. Jinbei was a good guy, really. Loyal and kind to his allies and friends.

Ace sat up, and sighed. Marco heard him apologize to the captain for falling asleep in the middle of training. Marco wished he would not apologize for things out of his control. It wasn't as if he did this on purpose, or _wanted _to randomly fall asleep with no control over it.

Thatch came out with a huge pitcher of lemonade and set the tray on a barrel before filling a cup and bringing it to Ace. Ace liked lemonade a great deal. Marco and Jinbei watched in silence when Ace went back to practicing. All he was doing now was working on releasing the power as soon as he felt the pain in his head.

Marco was still worried about all of this.


	16. Insecurity

**This chapter has some funnies, my favorite One Piece antagonist included. Enjoy~**

"Can't sleep?" Marco asked in a tired voice while Ace was wide awake in bed that night. Ace shook his head, wishing Marco could sleep without waking up. The phoenix was able to sense when Ace was worried when they were sleeping, and woke Marco up to take care of Ace. But he couldn't help Ace drown out the feelings of the hundreds of other people on the ship.

Marco kissed the shell of Ace's ear. "I would sing a lullaby if I knew one. Would it be easier to sleep if you had music?" Ace nodded, often listening to music when going to bed back at his old home. "I wish we had a musician, then. That could play for you all night." Marco yawned.

"I'm sorry I'm keeping you up," Ace said quietly, sadly.

"Not your fault. It's the phoenix's fault. It's extremely attached and protective over you," Marco replied. Ace watched his eyes droop slightly before a flames licked up his face and his eyes widened again, forced to stay awake.

"Go to bed, phoenix," Ace tried. They both knew it wouldn't work, and it didn't. Marco readjusted himself so he was facing Ace, and put his hand on Ace's forehead, making healing flames against his soft skin. He could heal others with very small injuries, but this might work. Relax Ace's mind.

It started to work, with Ace's eyes starting to close, before someone made movement in their room next to Marco's, waking him up again. "It's hard with so many people," he lamented. "Someone is always moving."

Marco increased his flames. "Try not to think about it. Play a song in your head, or think of something relaxing." He didn't know that the words made Ace sad. He could barely remember most of the songs he used to love. Things like that faded slowly, like the sound of his friends' voices. Thankfully, he had Luffy and Sabo's voices imprinted in his mind. He replayed them daily to make sure he didn't forget them.

Ace thought about the feeling of being in the warm, green ocean back home. The waves lapped at him while he laid on his back in the surf, just submerged enough to breathe, but with his ears underwater, hearing the creatures of the sea, the waves and sound of sand moving with them. This did the trick, and he slowly fell asleep. Marco's phoenix let him sleep not long after.

Jinbei was still there the next day, and Ace hadn't talked to him much. Marco did, but Ace went to do other things for as long as he could. Mika made sure he knew he didn't have to rush with the hat, since he was dealing with a lot of other stuff he had to do. Like practice both types of haki, barely making anyone stumble from it anymore as long as he released it the second the pain started.

He was always a fast learner, but he was unable to not feel all of the people and things in the ocean around him. He didn't feel small things, like the fish, but he could feel sea kings and dolphins and whales that passed nearby.

Ace dreaded going to the next island. Which was only a few days away. He felt like a burden when Izo said he didn't have to go if the amount of people was too much now. He felt useless, and he tried his very best to look like things were fine. That he wasn't very bothered by the haki. No one knew how long it would take for him to get used to it. It was uncharted territory since most people learned slowly, a slow transition. Ace's came so suddenly, and no one knew what triggered it. Nothing big happened that would be obviously what caused it. Or maybe nothing caused it and it had been building up and finally came out.

Ace was sitting in the library, by himself, writing in a journal that Haruta suggested he should do. No one could read it since he was writing in his own language. He wrote about the trivial things about the day, before going in deeper to his feelings. He was truly glad nobody would read it and see how much he whined and complained about everything. The only thing he wrote about that was good was Marco and Thatch, and their support for him through the hard times.

He dated things based on the calendar he had at his table. It was nice just being in the quiet and focusing on something that didn't let your mind wander like sewing or embroidery did. He was happy to just sit by himself in a room that was empty. He still felt like he wasn't alone with all the presences around him, but he had been given permission by the captain to lock the doors to the library for an hour just for some true peace and quiet. After all, his own room had a lot of people walk past the door.

It was the most comfortable he'd been in two days and was sad to have to unlock the doors after only an hour. But, that's all he was given permission for and would not complain or ask for an extension.

Ace worried that he hurt Marco by wanting to be alone, but the commander made it abundantly clear that Ace may be his partner, but he was still a person and deserved alone time. Ace was so thankful that Marco was supportive like this. It made things easier, especially when he felt he was overreacting or just being dramatic. His close friends told him that he wasn't. None of them understood what it felt like to suddenly be bombarded with strong haki, but did their best to be supportive and considerate.

The day passed slowly, a bit too slowly, and he went to bed tired enough to sleep. Marco was nice and warm under the covers, and being in his arms felt good. Like Ace wasn't a mess right now, and was like how he'd been when he was normal. Marco's reaction to Ace and his emotions when he was upset showed that he really cared. It was a miracle, but Ace didn't think Marco would ditch him at a moment's notice when he became too much.

The next day wasn't nearly as pleasant. He woke up with another headache, but this one was different. Not as painful, but it was like there was a buzzing feeling in the back of his head. When he woke up, Marco was still asleep. He sat up slowly and yawned putting his hand on his forehead and pressing down on it, like it would dim the pain.

He tried to release the feeling, but no haki came out. Instead, he watched Marco get up without looking at him. He swayed and scrunched his eyes shut, feeling nauseous, like he was on a roller coaster even though he hadn't moved at all.

A few seconds later, Marco actually got up. Ace looked confused, but said nothing. He didn't want to seem crazy. It didn't matter, since he made a scene in another way. He saw himself throw up in the toilet, and ran into the bathroom to throw up. Marco was there, rubbing his back, looking very concerned.

He handed Ace a tissue, and he wiped his mouth, face dark blue with shame. "_Are you alright?"_

"Are you alright?" Ace nodded, though the headache was back. Again, he tried to release the feeling, but nothing happened. Marco handed Ace the bottle of toothpaste and he put a bit in his mouth, not wanting his breath to smell. He slowly stood up and washed his hands, and looked in the mirror. He'd slept the night before, well, but he had circles under his eyes.

"_Do you want to go back to bed?"_

"Do you want to go back to bed?" Ace was panicking, thinking he was going crazy. He nodded his head, even if it was time to wake up. Maybe he could fall asleep and the weirdness would fade, maybe he was just sick and that's why he was hearing and seeing things that couldn't happen.

Ace tried to close his eyes when he laid back on the bed, but he didn't feel any better at all. He bit his lip so hard there was a bead of dark blood that dripped down his chin. Marco put his hand on Ace's cheek. "Don't," he said softly, and wiped the blood away.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to," Ace said back. "_Is something wrong?"_

"Is something wrong?" Marco asked, like an echo to what Ace'd already heard seconds before. "You can tell me." He knew he could tell Marco. And he had to tell someone.

Ace was silent for a beat. "I think I'm going crazy," he said quietly. Marco's eyebrows pinched and he asked what Ace would say that. "I… I keep seeing things, like, a second before they happen. Like when I threw up, or some of the stuff you said. Am I crazy?" Marco's face looked surprised before he shook his head. Ace thought he'd done something wrong.

"There's a man in the New World who has observation haki that is so advanced he can see seconds into the future," Marco explained. Ace groaned, he didn't want anything else. He already had enough as it was, he didn't need to start seeing into the damn future as well. He just wanted to be how he was not five days ago. "It makes sense, since yours has such a large range. It would just normally take decades to master your haki so well that this happens. His name is Katakuri, or Dog Tooth. As far as I know, he, and now you, are the only people that can do that."

Ace rolled over onto his stomach, shoving his face in his pillow. "I don't want to be special, I don't want all these added powers. I just want to be me. I was happy with my normal powers and the devil fruit. I won't even use all of this stuff. Someone else should have them, not me," Ace lamented into the pillow, though loud enough for Marco to hear and understand him.

The commander rubbed soothing circles on Ace's clothed back. "I know this is hard, but you can make it through it, Ace. I know you can."

"All this stupid stuff is making me miserable. I don't want more. What after this? What's next? Time traveling? I'll never be normal here, but I just want to be like… like a normal one on the crew. I want to be useful, and not a burden or making all this trouble cause I keep freaking out about stupid stuff. I don't want any more, Marco," Ace said, tears in his voice as they were soaked into his pillow. Marco guided him off his stomach and into his arms.

"I don't know what will happen next," Marco said honestly. Though it wasn't the answer Ace was hoping for, he appreciated Marco's honesty and not overly sugar coating things, taking Ace's feelings seriously and not like a whining child. "But, if anything more happens like this, we'll do it together. Everyone will be - _is - _glad to help you when you need it."

Ace sniffled, and said, "It's wasted on me. I'm not gonna use it for fighting or anything like that. And it's not like seeing the future has an everyday use. It's not gonna help me with anything. It's not like I can see hours into the future and predict some storm or bad humans. Just a couple seconds is a waste. More trouble than it's worth."

Ace felt the pain in his head, knowing it was from the conquering haki, and released it. It barely made Marco twitch.

"It may seem like a waste now, but it might come in handy someday. This stuff, haki, is incredibly useful for safety, not just fighting someone else. If something is coming after you, you'll know and be able to move. It's also helpful for you, since you're wanted right now, so you would know about any bounty hunters or marines sneaking around. I know the future glimpsing one is not practical for everyday uses. That is true. But you could protect someone with these powers, like you did with Teach.

"Think about it, if you'd had haki before, and were able to see the future, you might have been able to do something else. Maybe not fight, but shove Thatch out of the way, or call for help the second you saw the traitor act," Marco finished. Ace frowned.

"I just want to be myself and not have to worry about things I _don't want. _Someone else should have these powers. What if people think I'm a waste? That I have all these 'useful' powers but never use them? What if they resent me?" Marco made a sudden stern face.

"Don't change for _anyone. _Don't change yourself if you don't want to. Don't let someone else's words dictate who you are or who you want to be. You are who you want to be and that is it. If you want to fight and battle, then do so. If you want to embroider and read and draw, then do those things. No one will force you to be a fighter, everyone knows by now that you clearly don't want to be one. And if they try to make you, I want you to tell me, Thatch or Pops." Ace frowned.

"I can stick up for myself now if I have to. I already did," Ace said quickly. He didn't want Marco to think he was a pushover that needed protection. Marco looked questioning. "Someone called me a whore and I stood up to them. It was a long time ago. I didn't say anything because I took care of it myself. I… I don't want you to think I'm a weak person who needs protecting.

"I know… I know I've been like that lately, but it's not who I am." Marco cupped his cheek, looking confused.

"Ace, why are you trying to convince me what you are or aren't? I know what you are, who you are. Why are you trying to convince me? You know I love you, right?" he asked in genuine concern. Ace nodded. "Then why?"

Ace looked incredibly uncomfortable, but he would tell the truth or Marco might take it wrong. "I don't want you to get bored with me, or think that I'm weak. You're so strong, and then all I do is cause people trouble. I don't want you to leave me," he confessed, voice tiny and unsure. Marco hugged him tightly and kissed his tears away tenderly.

"Ace, I could never get bored of you. You're not weak. Sensitive, kind, and gentle is not _weak. _You're strong in so many ways that no one else here is. You'd rather run and not cause harm than puff up your chest and try to seem strong. You'd rather put yourself in danger than hurt loved ones, you care about everyone so much. You may not be a fighter like I am, but I don't care about that. You don't cause trouble for us. Friends help each other. Not just family, we're friends and we'll help you even if you're not anyones' brother. I'm not going to leave you. Besides, my phoenix is so attached I'd die without you. Though, I'd probably end up that way if I lost you anyways.

"You've brought so much good to my life, made me love someone. You're my role model in many ways, Ace. I strive to be like you. Strong, caring, kind, honest. Being with you I think has made me into a better person. The last thing you need to worry about is me leaving you. I swear on my and my loved ones' lives. I will not just leave you. _I promise." _

Ace was sobbing by now, and Marco was holding him close, rocking him gently on the big bed. "Do you believe me?" the blonde asked quietly. It was clear the phoenix was worried as well since Ace was enveloped in the soft flames. His own flames were reacting, thankfully not setting the bed on fire underneath them. Ace nodded, and Marco sighed in relief.

A buzzing came back in his head, and he saw himself sitting up. What was the point of a vision like that? All he did was sit up! He did as he saw, and sat up slowly, wiping the tears and snot away. He saw himself apologize and Marco said not to, so he didn't. The first mate rubbed Ace's back gently, patiently letting him compose himself. Not rushing. Once Ace was calmed down and no longer crying and sniffling, Marco asked if he was hungry.

Ace was, but he didn't want to leave yet. He felt someone standing outside the room, and he realized just how loud he'd been. Marco of course felt the presence, too, though he could tell who it was and Ace couldn't. "Ace is fine, Thatch," Marco called, twirling the black strands of hair between his fingers.

"_Are you sure?" _Thatch's worried voice asked outside of the door.

"I'm okay, Thatch," Ace said, feeling warm inside that he cared so much, not that Ace thought he didn't.

"_Okay… I'm gonna go start breakfast now if you want to come," _the chef said a bit uncertainly.

"We'll be out in a bit," Marco said, still running his fingers through Ace's hair gently. His fingers mixed flames in his hair, a soothing feeling that made him sleepy again, but knew he wouldn't be able to sleep even if he went back to bed. The pain came and he released it immediately. "You're getting better at that already," Marco praised. Ace hadn't even noticed he'd done it.

"Do you think I can do it all? The haki?"

Marco smiled. "I know you can." Ace gave a wobbly smile, and nodded. "Why don't you go get dressed and I'll meet you in the galley?" Ace's cheeks darkened, and Marco raised an eyebrow, wondering what caused it. "Yes?" he prompted.

"C-can I move my stuff in here… now?" the fire logia asked uncertainly. Marco beamed, showing all of his teeth, and nodded. Ace smiled back, and left the room, a bit bashfully, to go get dressed and move his things into Marco's room. Not that he had much to move. He hurried to his room, stopping every now and then to get the headaches under control.

He changed and stuffed all of his clothes into the big pillow case and his other belongings in his arms before walking back to Marco's - _their _room. He was smiling the whole time despite the constant headaches and seeing useless things three seconds in the future.

Marco was changed into his normal attire like Ace was, and Ace put his clothes in a drawer Marco had emptied for him. "Marco?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for being so understanding and patient," Ace said bashfully. Marco walked to him and pressed their foreheads together.

"Of course. I'll always be there for the people I love," he said. The two walked from their room and to the galley, holding hands. "How about I ask if you can be part of the meeting this time? It will be about you, after all," the mythical zoan offered. Ace wasn't sure, he didn't want to intrude and make some of the commanders irate.

"No, it's fine. Maybe tell me the necessities later?" he asked, releasing a wave that didn't bother Marco.

"Alright, sounds like a plan," he said, thumb running against Ace's smooth hand. When they entered the room, Thatch looked distressed, cooking with a deep frown on. Ace hoped it wasn't because of him. He hadn't meant to be so loud with his crying. Hopefully it didn't wake anyone else up. He'd feel guilty if that was what happened.

He abandoned the food the moment Ace got near, and asked him if everything was alright. Ace hadn't cried like that in front of him before. It probably had been loud and painful to listen to. "Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

Ace nodded, and Marco said, "We've just had another hiccup." Thatch furrowed his brows, so Marco elaborated, "More haki showed up."

"Armament?" Thatch guessed, since there was no other haki and no one would think Ace had gained foresight like that overnight. Marco shook his head, and Ace's face flamed when Thatch seemed to understand after only a moment of thinking.

"...Katakuri?" he guessed quietly. Marco nodded. "Damn. I'm sorry, Ace. I know you don't want all this stuff," Thatch said kindly, understandingly. Ace smiled at him, sincere but also a little forced.

He shrugged. "Nothing I can do about it now," he replied. Thatch smiled at him, in sympathy or pity, Ace couldn't tell. He went back to cooking, chocolate chip pancakes for Ace, which Ace felt was for him since it was his favorite besides french toast, which was soon given to him. He needed to exercise or he'd gain weight. He ate so much here, even if his fruit seemed to have made him need to eat more. Something about burning off the food quickly, especially when he was using the power.

A few commanders trickled in, and Ace had a feeling Jozu had heard Ace's melt down since he was the closest next to Thatch, who was across the hall. The man looked at Ace curiously, probably wondering why on earth he was crying so loud at five thirty in the morning. The logia was a bit embarrassed about the whole thing, but everything had built up and he just exploded. It was inevitable, going to happen sooner or later.

It seemed Whitebeard had been alerted to Ace's apparent meltdown, and was looking concerned for him as well, everytime Ace turned around. He didn't want to go to the commanders' table when some of them heard or were told of the episode.

Marco seemed to understand this and asked if he wanted to sit with his other friends. Ace nodded, and the three, including Thatch, headed past their usual table and to the end of the one Ace had sat at more often than not. His friends asked how it was going with his haki, and Ace didn't talk about the unnecessary future glimpsing. "I'm getting more used to the conquerors, but observation is still hard. It's hard to fall asleep when I feel people moving all over the ship and can't tune it out," he explained honestly.

"Man, I wish I knew observation haki, but not like you did," Nick commented. A few others nodded in agreement. Marco talked with Thatch for a bit about trivial stuff mostly. Definitely not about Ace. Not in front of his friends, especially. Eventually, the topic of Mika's hat came up.

"I'm sorry, Mika, I don't know when it will be finished. I have the outline down with some of the inner colors, but that's it. It might take a while," Ace said sadly, feeling bad.

"Nah, it's fine. Better to get yourself back to normal than stress out over a hat. There's no hurry," Ace's fellow division member said. "Commander Izo sure is nice to let you off some work while you get yourself fixed up. Your health is more important than your job."

Ace smiled and thanked him. Marco and Thatch looked happy as well. After most people were done eating, Ace helped Thatch clean up the tables before the meeting he knew they were planning. Ace saw Thatch about to drop a plate in his head, pain accompanying, but he quickly caught it before it hit the ground and shattered. At least he was able to change the visions, he wasn't seeing what was going to happen no matter what.

"Nice one, Ace," Thatch said with a grin. Ace smiled back a small and uncertain smile. One time, that was probably all there would be. He'd rather have a plate drop and break than the constant headache seeing the future caused.

After the tables were cleaned up, Thatch washed his hands and then excused himself, heading out to go to the meeting Marco was already at. Ace washed his hands and slowly headed to the nearest table and put his head in his hands, making a heavy, tired sigh.

-x-

"So is the meeting about Ace sobbing in your room at five in the morning?" Namur asked. Marco sighed. If Namur heard it, then they probably all had. But Marco nodded.

"In part. The problem is what caused it. He woke up and the first thing he did was get sick. His head hurt terribly again. Another haki showed up. No, not armament. Fucking _Katakuri's power_. Overnight," Marco grumbled.

Those in the room were more shocked than they'd been the first time the haki showed up. It took decades of training your observation haki to get to the point of Katakuri's, and yet Ace just acquired it overnight? It didn't make sense, but none of this did.

Izo spoke next, a very serious tone in his voice. "We cannot let anyone know about Ace's abilities. Everyone will want him, and since he refuses to fight back, he could easily be abducted by a yonko if they tried. We can't let anyone know about this."

"I agree," Whitebeard said in a grim voice. "I do not wish to change Ace's personality, but I do wish he would fight back when necessary. And he had an allergic reaction to sea stone, didn't he? It could be exceedingly dangerous if he was caught and put in cuffs. I am concerned over this. And with both the advanced observation haki and conqueror's haki, the government and marines would want to take care of him, despite him being a pacifist."

Marco was uncomfortable with this. He didn't want to restrict Ace's freedom on islands, but he needed to go with someone who could defend him if he chose not to defend himself. It was troubling. Marco loved him for that, but it was also worrying about his safety. Marco had no doubt he'd be able to incapacitate someone after him, but the question was, would he? They sure hoped so.

"So, why did that cause him to cry?" Namur asked.

"It's scary. He thought he was going insane and was hesitant to tell me at first. He's only been on earth a couple months and all of this shit has happened to him. He can barely sleep because of the plain observation haki, and he's an emotional mess. He hides it from everyone, but I see it," Marco explained, sadness apparent in his voice. The others looked a bit sad as well, even those who didn't like Ace could sympathize with him.

"This conversation will not leave this room," Whitebeard said sternly. "No one will know about this unless Ace decides to tell someone. Those of you who still, for some reason, don't like Ace, stay away from him. Don't make him feel worse than he already does."

"Aye," the crew said. "You are dismissed. Besides Marco," the captain added. The others left the room, Thatch lingering, wishing to stay, but knowing he had to leave. Marco looked up, waiting for his Pops to speak.

Whitebeard looked hesitant to speak. "Marco, do you know why he rejects us as being family? Why he refuses to call me a father or any of you brothers?" The man sounded truly sad. "I said I considered him a son, and he just left. I thought he was mad at me, but he came back not long after to resume practicing."

Marco sighed, looking sad. "I don't know specifically, but I'm pretty sure it stems from his childhood. Something happened that made him never want a parent again. And he says that he doesn't want to betray his dead brothers by replacing them. I've tried to explain to him that we could never replace his precious siblings. He doesn't believe me. I don't know what to do about it but give him space. I think we should start thinking he'll never call us family. I don't see what would change his mind."

Whitebeard's face fell. "I'm glad he's here, but it's so difficult not calling him son. I consider him one, but won't say anything more about it."

"I'm sorry, Pops. I know how hard this is for you, and Thatch especially. It's never taken this long for one of us to accept you and everyone as family," Marco replied honestly. "I don't think you should get your hopes up on it happening anytime soon. Be patient and maybe someday he'll feel comfortable enough."

The captain just sighed. "Well, how are things going with you two?" Marco smiled then.

"He finally moved into my room officially this morning. It's going really well, and I'll always be there for him while he's having a hard time," the first mate explained. Whitebeard smiled.

"You've changed since he came. You're more patient and snap less when irate. And your responses to Thatch and Haruta's pranks have become less severe, much to their disappointment," he said with a laugh.

Marco smiled, too. "Ace is my role model in many ways," he said simply and truthfully. "If he was a fighter, I think he'd have potential for filling the empty second division spot. But I don't think he'd want to even if he did like to fight, or would at least do so when necessary."

"That is true. Well, I'm happy Thatch found him either way." Marco agreed. "You may go now. Keep me updated if anything else goes wrong. He may not see me as his father, but I'll do anything to help him as my son. He can't change how I feel about him." Marco knew that was true. There was no way Ace could make Pops not see him as a son besides betraying them, which Marco knew was impossible. Ace couldn't hurt a stranger, there is no way he'd hurt a fellow crew member. At least, not on purpose.

Marco left the room to go find Ace, see how he was doing. He sensed the sayla in the galley, still. When he entered, he found Ace asleep at the table, face in his arms. Marco was grateful that he at least got a little sleep, even if it was only because of his medical condition. He walked over and sat next to him. He'd wait for him to wake up and then see how he was doing.

Some people may think this was like babysitting, or that Ace was being a burden. He himself thought that, sadly. But Marco would never think that. He'd always helped his siblings when they needed it, so why on earth would he not support his lover, maybe even more? Seeing Ace hurt and upset hurt him, too. And his phoenix was very distressed when Ace was. It was so attached to the sayla it was insane.

Though, so was Marco.

Ace woke up maybe ten minutes after Marco came in. He massaged his temples, groaning at the discomfort. "Release it, don't keep it pent up," Marco said quietly. Ace nodded and Marco felt a little stronger wave of haki than lately. It must have been building up in his sleep. It didn't harm him, but did make him sway just barely. Like a breeze blew through and barely moved him. "How you doing?"

"Okay, I guess. I could sleep, so that's a plus," he said in a flat voice. Marco rubbed his back comfortingly. He offered for them to go outside, and Ace nodded. They walked out onto deck holding hands, and climbed the crowsnest to have some privacy but still be outside.

"We're landing on an island in a couple days. No marine bases one it, so we can go into town safely. I'll be sticking with you if you're okay with that," Marco said, though he'd go with him regardless. But Ace was fine with it.

"Yeah, that would be best. Even if I didn't want to go with you, it would be safer considering how dangerous it would be for me to pass out in front of everyone, even if there are no Celestial Dragons."

"Very true," Marco replied. They watched the ocean for a while, talking about useless things, pretending Ace wasn't having head pains from two different things. At least he hadn't gotten sick again. "Ace? Would you ever sing for me some time? Since you used to like to do it?" Marco asked cautiously. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

Ace's cheeks burned a dark blue under his freckles. "Okay. I don't know any human songs, though. And you wouldn't understand the words," he replied. Marco beamed at the thought of hearing Ace sing in his native language. "I'd have to turn the translator off so you could hear my actual language. I won't be able to understand you if you talk during that."

Marco nodded in understanding. Really, that chip in his head was brilliant and so useful. Things would have been a lot harder without it. He was confident Ace would have been able to learn human language relatively quickly, but the chip was better.

After a while, Ace went down to practice with Whitebeard, only this was for his observation haki. Distinguishing between certain people, so he recognized the commanders and captain in case there was an emergency. They had no way to train Ace with the future glimpsing since no one on board had any experience with that. Ace was on his own for that one.

Marco did paperwork he'd put off for the last couple of days, and it kept him there until dinner, but Ace had come in to keep him company, writing in his journal on the comfy chair in the corner of the room. Marco was glad his phoenix was under control and he could work without it begging to be with Ace. Well, more like demanding, it didn't beg.

Things were going better today, besides the headaches. As long as Ace wasn't sleeping, he could pretend to be fine. He didn't want to trouble anyone. Marco would not call it lying, and not faking. More like disguising. Disguising that he felt like crap and was emotional and just wanted to curl up in a ball under the blankets on his and Marco's bed.

He went to bed early that night, before Marco did. Of course, when Marco went to bed, Ace was awake, face in his pillow, but clearly awake with his breathing. Marco took his shirt off and shoes, and laid down next to Ace, staying in his pants since they weren't uncomfortable to sleep in. He wrapped an arm around Ace, and stayed up with him until he finally fell asleep.

-x-

Three days later, a day after arriving on the island and having stock done, Ace was walking with his hand in Marco's around the town. It was big, but they were staying in the tourist area. Not many tourists in the New World, but it had lots of novelty shops and food stalls that Ace was tasting the taste testers. He had money left from his commissions, and bought a bunch of food for himself and some red beads and a bracelet that he put on. It wouldn't match with his blue skin, but it should be fine with his human color.

Marco had told him that he didn't need to use personal money since everyone got a bit of spending money on each island. Ace just said he wanted to use his own money, and Marco didn't push.

Marco was at the stand behind him, looking at postcards and paintings you could buy. He told Ace he wanted to put some life in their room since it wasn't only his anymore. So he was buying paintings or decorations to put on the walls. Ace thought it was a cute idea, and left him to pick. After all, it was his room first, even if they shared it now.

"Marco, I'm going to go around the corner for a bit and try some more food. I won't go far," Ace said, touching Marco's shoulder.

"Alright, call my name if something happens," Marco said, earning a nod from his partner. Ace wandered around the corner, and noticed that there were not many people in this area, which he thought was strange. When he turned to the side, he assumed everyone was afraid of the large man at one of the food stands. The food smelled delicious, so Ace went and stood behind him, waiting for him to be done. He was counting his money and realized that his bills were too large to buy.

"Excuse me? Do you have change to break a 20?" Ace asked politely to the very large man with a fluffy scarf covering his face. The man looked down at him in bewilderment. That was what Ace would call his expression. Maybe he thought Ace's rapid breathing was weird. Ace just smiled pleasantly.

"Sure…" the man said, almost suspiciously. He pulled out four fives and traded them with Ace. Ace thanked him and then stood patiently. But the huge man, who would be scary if Ace wasn't used to Whitebeard's height, continued to look at him. Ace wondered if he'd done something to offend him.

"You aren't afraid of me?" he asked in a curious, deep voice, though it sounded a bit emotionless in a way. Ace smiled brightly.

"My captain is even bigger than you are, so I'm good." The man looked at him like he was an utter idiot, but bought his food. Ace stepped up and bought a large amount of the sweetened meat that smelled delicious.

"You a Whitebeard?" he asked. Ace hadn't shown his tattoo, but he was sure the comment about the size of his captain gave it away. Ace smiled. Why were everyone afraid of this guy? He seemed perfectly nice. Don't judge a book by its cover. Ace nodded.

"Joined a couple months ago," Ace replied honestly.

"Well, that explains it. Listen, kid. You should know what your fellow and enemy pirates look like. If you don't, they can pick you off easily," the man said. Ace blinked twice, and then asked who he was. "Charlotte Katakuri. A member of another yonko's crew. But I'm not stupid and won't cause a war with your captain by killing you."

"But I haven't done anything to you," Ace said, really not understanding why he'd be killed for no reason. Katakuri put a hand to his forehead. Then, Ace heard Marco scream his name in horror.

"Ace! What are you doing?!" he shouted, and ran over, grabbing his arm.

"Phoenix Marco, teach him how to be a better pirate or he'll be easy fodder," Katakuri said harshly. He turned around and walked away, shaking his head in disbelief.

"It's not my fault, I didn't recognize him," Ace said quickly. Marco couldn't help but burst into laughter after the threat was gone. "What's so funny?"

Marco continued to laugh. "You had a chat with Dogtooth Katakuri and he told me to make you a better pirate! Haha! What on earth did you talk about?" the phoenix asked, slowing his laughter at Ace's pout.

"I asked him to break a 20 for me… He seemed nice enough! Not my fault I've never seen a picture of him!" Ace protested when Marco started laughing again. Marco kissed Ace sloppily on the cheek, still chuckling.

"Well, we'll have to get you familiar with the bigwigs. Man, Pops is gonna think this is hilarious," Marco commented. "Now, where do you want to go next?" he asked while holding Ace's hand, a little bag in his other hand. Predictably, Ace wanted to go taste some more food.

Two hours later, Ace was laughed at again. Whitebeard thought it was especially funny once Ace recounted the whole thing. Thatch thought it was hilarious, too. Some on deck thought he was brave and others, stupid. Ace couldn't help that he was naturally friendly and trusting. The human, in hindsight, was scary looking, but Ace had been given no reason to fear him, so he didn't. What, was he supposed to fear everyone he didn't know? He was not happy with everyone laughing at his expense, but didn't want to cause a scene by storming out like a child.

Instead, he sat at the table, staring at his plate with a frown. Marco sighed, and kissed Ace's temple. "I'm sorry, Ace. It's just, I don't know anyone else that would ask someone like Katakuri to break a 20. Even I would say he's frightening. I'm not scared of him, but his appearance is unsettling. Even when he is hiding some of his face. You came into contact with the only other person who can see the future and didn't even know it. You have amazing luck that he didn't kill you when he didn't know you were a Whitebeard." Ace pouted, twiddling with his fork.

"I was just being friendly," Ace mumbled.

"And I admire you for that. But we need to show you other wanted posters for people who might be dangerous," Marco replied, arm around Ace's shoulder. A small wave of haki came off of him, but his face barely showed any discomfort.

Less than half an hour after the meal, Ace was with Marco in the information room for Haruta's division. There was a huge stack of bounty posters that they were going through. When Ace saw the other two yonko besides Shanks, he looked very confused. "Why do they look so scary? Do they take scary pictures on purpose? They all look staged. Did they pose?"

Marco looked at the perfect photos, not blurred and all with good angles. He chuckled. "You know, they do look staged. Compared to yours, they look like they were planned. Huh. Anyways, let's go through the bigwigs of their crews. Here's the guy you just met," Marco said, showing Katakuri's poster. Ace was amazed with the bounty amount. "He has one of the biggest bounties out there. One fifth, almost, of Pops' bounty. He's a dangerous man. He wields his paramecia fruit like a logia.

"You know, I've kind of always wanted to see him fight. But it's not like you can ask another yonko member to have a battle."

"Why not?" Marco laughed, and pecked a kiss on Ace's head.

"There are just some things you don't do. Big Mom has over eighty kids, and most of them are strong on their own. Many have devil fruits that we don't know about."

Ace looked at Big Mom's poster curiously. "Why do two yonko like being called parents? Big Mom, and Pops. Is that a requirement for being a yonko? It would be a strange requirement." Marco looked at Ace with warm, fond eyes.

He picked up the female yonko's poster and said, "Big Mom is actually a mother to much of her crew. Pops is our father by name, not biologically. But I'd much rather be a part of this crew than one of Big Mom's kids. I heard she has killed them off before." Ace looked horrified. "Yeah. When they're not useful or get in the way of her wanting some sort of sweet. She's sometimes in the news after destroying her own islands. She's not a mom you'd ever want to have," Marco finished.

"She kills her own people?" Ace asked in disgust.

"Yup. And her protected islands are more like hostages, She's a bad person. And all of her main children are, too. She has many allies, but not like ours. Kaido is a strange one. He's practically indestructible. He is also a bad person. At least, to you. And to us, but mostly you. He offs his own men as well. He's currently taken over a country called Wano. It's very hard to get there, since the ocean around it is a mess. We've been there before. It's like it's cut off from the rest of history."

Marco showed him all of the other bounty posters he had, and Ace made sure to remember all of their faces. Names were secondary. "Next, I'll educate you about the marines you want to look out for. The most troublesome of them are the admirals. Three of them, logias, like you. Kizaru, he can turn into light, and therefore move at light speed. Aokiji is the most liberal of them. He's an ice man, and controls and creates ice. Next is probably my least favorite. Akainu, he's a magma man." Marco then showed the sayla pictures of the vice admirals.

"Stay away from these people. They will be able to defeat you out of experience alone. All other marines might be easier to take down and run from. But, if you come into contact with one of the admirals, I want you to run as fast as you can, and call for help. I doubt you'll see any any time soon, since they mostly reside in Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line. The New World more belongs to the pirates," Marco said. Ace nodded, he'd run if he came into contact with any of these people.

"Now I'll show you the seven warlords of the sea," the phoenix zoan said. Ace passed out and Marco patiently waited for him to wake. "M'back, sorry," Ace said, and they progressed like it hadn't happened.

Ace was frankly distubed by some of the devil fruits he was told about. Besides Jinbei, who he already knew was a warlord, some of these guys were creepy. Like the string guy, Doflamingo, or the guy who could take away shadows, Moria. "You don't have to worry about these ones, they aren't stupid enough to attack a yonko crew. And they rarely enter the New World besides Jinbei. Well, Doflamingo lives on an island in this half of the Grand Line, but he doesn't venture out much.

"You don't need to worry about Boa Hancock, she couldn't turn you into stone anyways."

"How do you know?" Ace wondered. He looked at the poster. She looked a bit rude.

"Well, do you think she is beautiful? So much so that you'd fall in love on sight?" Ace looked at him like he was weird.

"No, I don't even know her. I mean, she's pretty I guess, but she looks kind of mean," Ace replied. He gazed at her picture, but wasn't feeling anything like Marco had asked. Ace would probably never fall in love with someone because of their looks. The person matters, not what they look like. He thought Marco was attractive, but it wasn't why he loved him.

Marco smiled. "Then you have your answer. Her powers work most on people who think she's incredibly sexy. She mostly sticks to her own land in the Calm Belt, and rarely does what the government says or asks her to do."

Ace raised his eyebrows. "She'd be fired if she did that back at my home world," he said casually. Marco chuckled. That would make more sense than letting her keep her position even when she was belligerent and uncooperative.

"It's probably because she's so pretty, so she tricks them into being fine with it."

"Sooo… sexism?"

"Pretty much."

"Hmm."

Ace winced as he had the pain in his head, and saw Marco shuffling the papers and putting them down. This power was so useless so far. It was ridiculous. He wondered if Katakuri used his only for battle, too. Marco said he was a fighter, after all. Ace wished that he wasn't an enemy so he could have someone who knew was it was like to have this power. But, that was impossible. First off, none of his crew would let him anywhere near the man, and second, he may be angry that Ace has the power, too. And a man with a bounty higher than Marco's would be able to off Ace in a second.

"Can we go to bed now?" Ace asked with a yawn. Marco shuffled the papers just like Ace saw and stood up.

"Sure," he said, and the two headed to their room. Ace felt cozy when thinking about it being _their _room. Not just Marco's room which Ace visited. They changed in separate rooms for Ace's comfort, even if it was just taking his shorts off and putting pyjama pants on. Ace changed in the little bathroom while Marco did it in their room.

Ace actually fell asleep alright that night. It was a miracle, but somewhere in the night part of his knew that something wasn't right. His eyes opened a crack and he saw Marco's face, looking distressed in his sleep. Ace assumed he was having a nightmare and woke him up by touching his face and saying his name. His eyes snapped open, and Ace frowned.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly. Marco nodded rubbed a hand down his face with a sigh. "Bad dream?" He nodded again but Ace didn't pry. If he wanted to say something about it, then he would and Ace wasn't going to ask.

Ace brought Marco's face to his collar bone and ran his fingers through Marco's hair. Marco couldn't fall asleep after whatever dream he had. "Will you sing to me?" he asked, exhaustion in his voice. He might not even be fully awake. Ace bit his lip and sighed, but nodded.

"Translator power down," Ace said, for the first time since arriving, shutting off all access to understanding or speaking the human language. Marco snuggled closer and Ace started to sing a song in his own language. It sounded nothing like the language Marco spoke, and had sounds that humans couldn't seem to make. Lots of clicking in the throat, but soothing lyrics, no matter if Marco knew what they meant, put him to sleep.

"_Translator full power," _Ace whispered, and fell asleep not long after Marco. It was the first night in what felt like forever that Ace actually fell asleep easily, and stayed asleep.


	17. The Letter

**Much shorter chapter this time. I should have divided last chapter and this one more evenly. Oh well. Enjoy~**

Marco woke up wrapped in Ace's warm arms, his black hair falling across his cheek. Marco blinked sleepily before a soft melody was in his head, and he remembered Ace's singing him to sleep. Marco knew he'd never be able to speak Ace's language. He didn't even know if he could make the sounds he heard Ace's language include. And he had a beautiful singing voice. Marco wanted to listen to it all day.

Ace's perky nose scrunched up a little bit in his sleep and Marco just thought he was adorable. He stayed in his loose grip, content to just lay there in Ace's arms when it was usually the other way around. He let Ace sleep for as long as he could, knowing it was a rare night to sleep through it. Marco barely moved other than breathing.

After about an hour and a half of him waking up, Marco watched as Ace slowly woke up. His relaxed face started to move little by little, eyelids twitching before opening. Marco had never watched someone sleep or wake up before Ace. "Morning, sunshine."

"G'morning. You sleep better?" Marco nodded, and kissed Ace's freckled cheek. Ace smiled and yawned before sitting up. He wiped the little bit of drool in the corner of his mouth. Marco had seen him and been drooled on before, so Ace didn't seem to mind having just a little bit.

"You have a beautiful voice and your language is interesting," Marco said while Ace stretched. His face burned a dark blue, and he looked bashful and embarrassed. "What was the song about?" Ace twiddled his fingers, looking a bit embarrassed but also amused.

"It was about making paper baskets." Marco laughed loudly, and Ace couldn't help but join in. "Not the best lullaby, but when you don't recognize any of the words, anything can be a lullaby," Ace said with a smile. Marco felt a small burst of haki. Marco was about the say he loved Ace before he said, "Love you too."

"How'd you know I was gonna say it?" Ace raised an eyebrow, and Marco realized it had been a stupid question. Since it was in the immediate future, of course Ace had seen a glimpse of what he was going to say.

Both of them got dressed, of course in different areas to make Ace feel better. "How are you feeling today?" Marco asked while they left the room, shoes on, and Ace's hat resting against his back tattoo. He had his arm around Ace's waist loosely.

Ace smiled. "Better today. I slept well, and didn't wake up with a headache," Ace said happily. "It does hurt a little before the whole vision thing happens, but it hasn't happened much this morning."

"Good," Marco said happily. "Did you want to go back on the island today?" Ace frowned, and Marco wondered why. But he didn't press, and waited for Ace to answer. He didn't expect what he'd heard.

"Do you think Katakuri is still here?" Marco didn't know what that had to do with his question, but replied truthfully.

"No, his ship left not long after we got back to ours yesterday. Why?" the phoenix asked curiously. "You can tell me," he prompted kindly. Ace shook his head, saying it was stupid. "Nothing you do or can say is stupid. Not even singing me to sleep with a song about making paper baskets."

"I kinda wanted to talk to him," Ace confessed. Marco was surprised, but didn't let it show. He kept his tone conversational. Letting Ace talk to Katakuri may have been a bad thing to do, but the man was gone so they'd never know. He could guess why Ace wished to speak with him, for there was only one reason. In person, Marco would have never allowed it. He'd have been controlling, but he wouldn't put Ace in such danger just for wanting to talk to the man.

"About?" Marco prompted quietly. Ace frowned.

"What else? About the future glimpsing. Whitebeard has the haki I have and everyone has observation haki so I can talk to you all. But none of you have the stupid future seeing thing, so I have no one to talk to about it. To compare with. I wanted to ask him some questions. How to control it? How to see it on demand or stop it? Can you stop it or does it come no matter what? I just want some guide, knowing what it will turn into later. You know? I can tell the guy isn't friendly or on good terms with our crew, but I just… I don't know," Ace finished weakly.

"I understand why. No one here knows what you're going through with the newest form of haki. You'd never be allowed to meet him in person, though. No way the captain would allow that. And Katakuri may not like having someone else having that power. _But _he's not stupid and wouldn't dare attack a Whitebeard."

"So?"

"Maybe Pops will allow you to send him a letter and see if he responds? I think that's as good as you're going to get, if he ever gets it or replies. But we shouldn't wait too long or he'd make it back to Totto Land and may have to show Big Mom, who may not appreciate the letter, asking her son for sensitive information," Marco replied.

Ace protested, "I only want to relate, I wouldn't ask sensitive questions. Just my own questions." Marco gave him a reassuring smile.

"I know, baby, but Big Mom is irrational. I think you'd have to put your information first, though nothing about what you really are or where you came from." Ace nodded, saying he'd be careful if he sent any letters. "We'll ask Pops after breakfast, in private." Ace smiled at him, and then looked curious. They were just entering the galley. They'd slept in late so there were people eating already.

"Why suddenly calling me baby?" Ace wondered. Marco blinked twice, honestly not even noticing he'd done it. Did Ace not like it? "I don't have a problem with it, but we've been together for a couple months and there have been no cute names."

Marco grinned. "Does that mean you want some more names? My fire?" Ace's cheeks darkened, and Marco knew what he'd be calling Ace from now on. It sounded cheesy as hell, he knew. But if it got Ace pleasantly flustered it was worth it.

"Do I call you 'my bird' or something?" Marco lost his smile, not wanting his lover to adopt bird jokes as well. "My feathery fluffy-kins."

"_No," _Marco said forcefully, making Ace laugh. A little burst of haki came, but nothing major that affected anybody, even the ordinary pirates. The two got their food and sat at the commanders' table, where Atmos, Rayuko and Blenheim were. Atmos still hadn't warmed up to Ace and the other two were neither for or against him. He was just another crew member to them.

Marco and Ace were quiet throughout breakfast, Marco lost in his thoughts, still hearing Ace's singing (about making paper baskets) in his head. He wished he'd recorded it with a tone dial he had. His singing was worth recording over whatever was in it at the moment.

He wondered if it was a good idea to have Ace actually send a letter to Katakuri. Surely Big Mom would not attack a fellow yonko due to a letter sent from his son to hers? It might make Ace feel a lot better to have someone to tell him anything, not that it was guaranteed that the sweet commander would reply or even get the letter. Sending letters in the New World was hit or miss. The only reliable way to communicate was through the transponder snails.

"Pops, can Ace and I talk to you after breakfast?" Marco asked once they were starting to finish up the meal. The captain looked surprised, but said, "Of course." Predictably, the commanders at the table wanted to know what was up, but it was between Ace, Marco and Pops. They didn't need to know unless Ace was given permission to send the letter.

Ace drummed his fingers on the table in impatience, before Whitebeard stood and Marco did as well. The three took their plates to the kitchen and then headed to the meeting room. Ace looked nervous and hesitant to say anything, but Marco wasn't going to say it for him this time. He gave him a reassuring smile, and the sayla began to speak.

"Well… I, um, wanted to ask if I could send a letter to- to Katakuri? Not to meet in person cause Marco said that'd be a bad idea," Ace asked awkwardly. Pops was surprised, genuinely.

"And what would you be saying in the letter?" the captain asked lightly.

"Stuff about the future glimpsing. I don't know if he'd tell me, but I have no one else to ask anything about it. And he said he wasn't stupid and wouldn't kill me and start a war with you. So he wouldn't kill me for it, right?" Ace asked nervously. He didn't want Whitebeard to say no, that was very clear.

"I doubt he will actually tell you anything, but no, I do not think Big Mom or her children are stupid enough to attack one of my crew members," Whitebeard said. Marco couldn't help but think _Nice save, Pops. _He was clearly going to call Ace his son, but caught it at the last moment, and Ace hadn't seemed to notice.

"Really? Thank you!" Ace exclaimed. Whitebeard laughed.

"Don't get your hopes up, Ace. I don't know Dogtooth too well, so I don't know if he'd actually respond or not. But you may try. It's much safer than trying to talk to him in person. I'm frankly surprised he put up with you when he didn't know you were a Whitebeard," the captain said with a chuckle. Marco agreed. It had been surprising to see Ace just talking with the man and then him telling Marco to teach Ace to be a better pirate. He still thought it was hilarious. Only Ace could get away with that. Friendly talks with enemy pirates and enemy marines.

Ace nodded with a grin, showing off his white teeth. Not ten minutes later, Marco was helping Ace write out a letter, since he wasn't good at writing human language, even if he could read it. There were multiple crumpled up papers as Ace tried to get the right message across.

After two hours, they settled on one. It was mostly Ace's words with Marco's suggestions thrown in.

"_Charlotte Katakuri, _

_This is the kid you met on Kokoru island. I want to ask some questions and am hoping you will reply. I recently unlocked the kind of haki only you have, and I'm having trouble controlling it. I'm seeing the future randomly, for things that are unimportant. I don't want to ask you to give me important secrets, but does it get better? Will I be able to control it later, or will it always be like this? I don't like it, but I don't think I can get rid of it or ignore it how it is right now. _

_I don't want to see my crew mates shuffle papers, or sit up in bed when it gives me a headache. I'm not sure if this is appropriate to send a letter to my crew's enemy, but I don't know of anyone else with this power. _

_I'd really like you to respond, even if it's just to tell me to piss off. _

_-Ace. _

"I think this is as good as it's going to get. Not pushy, but honest. Well send it in a couple days here before we leave the island. Hopefully he won't be back in Totto Land by then," Marco said, sealing the letter and putting a Whitebeard stamp on it. "I wonder if he will actually reply. I doubt he's ever gotten a personal letter from an enemy."

"I'm not his enemy personally," Ace pointed out. Marco smiled. Ace was so cute and innocent sometimes. Slightly clueless about some things, but that was fine. It was Ace, and Ace was perfect to Marco.

"That may be true, but you're an enemy by association to him, part of our crew, which isn't on good terms usually with Big Mom or her crew/children. Want to go out and practice sparring?" Ace nodded, and they left to spar lightly, not too hard. Just Ace dodging and trying to turn into fire. It had been pushed aside since the haki turned up. He'd been distracted with other things, but it was best to get back on top of that.

Ace rarely used his fruit or his powers besides when he wanted it to be quiet around him in the library. He didn't need to use his powers if he didn't fight. Marco was glad that no one was trying to convince Ace to be a fighter.

After a short while, Thatch came out with a huge crate full of balls. Ace took a break to see what it was. "What's that for, Thatch?" he asked curiously. The chef grinned widely.

"Dodgeball!" he exclaimed, and Ace asked what it was. It sounded fun, but also dangerous. "Want to play with us? It'll be fun!" The crew were gathering around, excited to play the game. Haruta put a line of yellow tape across the deck, Whitebeard watching with a grin as his children acted like children, dividing into teams.

Ace looked uncertain about playing, and Marco assumed it was because he knew he'd be unable to keep up. The physical activity would be too much for him. It made the phoenix zoan sad, and his phoenix cooed in sympathy and worry. "No, I don't think I'll join in," Ace finally said with a sad smile. Thatch frowned.

"Okay. Well, join in if you change your mind." Ace nodded in response and went to sit against the railing to watch. The game was brutal, and Ace knew he wouldn't stand a chance. He'd be out in a second. Too much was going on for his haki to have been any use. Marco wanted to join in, but didn't want to leave Ace alone. He sat next to his lover to watch quietly.

"You can go play. I'm not going anywhere and will be fine," Ace said.

"I'll play the next round," Marco replied, arm around Ace's shoulders. His partner nodded, and the two watched in comfortable silence, Marco's arm warm against Ace's bare back. He glanced to the side to look at his freckles sprinkled across his shoulders the most obviously. He still loved them, and especially the ones in his tattoo that were made to look like constellations.

Ace fell asleep during the game, resting his head on Marco's shoulder, dozing softly even as pirates shouted and swore at each other while playing dodgeball like kids. Marco smiled, content to stay with Ace and skip the game.


	18. Drunken Confessions

**Some drunken moments and a little strain on a relationship. Some angst, too. Enjoy~**

* * *

Over the next two weeks, Ace improved with haki at a good pace. He still had headaches, but knew how to get rid of them. Immediately releasing the painful conquering haki, and closing his eyes whenever the future glimpsing happened. He still had no way to control them, and he was thinking that he wouldn't get a response from Katakuri. Since he couldn't have been far from the island the letter was sent from, he had to have gotten it unless there had been a storm or something.

Ace still did not like the observation haki at all, and still had no reason to use it. And he still couldn't turn it off when he wanted, or at least dim it. It was frustrating. Why did it appear all of the sudden, but he couldn't just turn it off just as easily?

He was grumpy sometimes, frustrated with not being where he wanted to be after a few weeks after practicing. It took him less time to be able to control his fruit than it did this. Less time to learn to embroider neatly. The pirates were understanding with his grumpiness, which he didn't take out on them. Of course not. He just glared at his food, or moped in the library, staring at the same page of a book for hours.

It was early in the morning when the newspaper came, and a letter was dropped as well. Ace was out there, the early riser while Marco was showering, and picked up the paper and letter. He looked for any wanted posters in the newspaper, but nothing was new. A few updated ones, but he'd seen those before.

Apparently there were pirates called "rookies", which were new pirates that were stirring up trouble. There were quite a few that headed to the New World. Some of them looked a bit unsettling, but they had very interesting devil fruits. They also all seem to have a stage name, like Phoenix Marco or Diamond Jozu. Ace had wondered what he would be called if a new poster was put out about him and had his name.

Marco had said it should have something to do with fire. He put the wanted posters back in the paper and set it on the deck, before seeing the letter was addressed to his first name. Ace's golden eyes widened and he opened the letter in a hurry. It was a long response, and he saw the name at the bottom and was honestly shocked. He didn't expect Katakuri to respond.

He started at the beginning of the page.

"_I can't believe that a Whitebeard sent me a letter asking for help. It's clear that you are definitely a new pirate. I don't know how you have developed the future seeing ability at your age, since it took me decades to do so, but I will say a few things. _

_First, a warning not to get friendly with pirates you don't know won't kill you. That should honestly be a given. Ask the Whitebeard commanders to teach you how to be a pirate or at least have them show you what your enemies look like. It's obvious you had no idea who I was back at the island. _

_Second, if you just opened the letter yourself, you should not have done that. What if I put poison in the paper and you dropped dead? But, that would start a war with Whitebeard and I am not a fool. No matter if I'm responding to an enemy's letter. Be cautious even if you are on one of the strongest crews on the seas. _

_Third, I recognized you from that wanted poster of the blue human. I won't tell anyone, but maybe don't wear the very recognizable orange hat on islands that aren't under your captain's protection. _

_Lastly, the power will take a while to master. Maybe not as long as it took me, but I gradually learned. It didn't come overnight like I think yours must have. You will see useless things for a while, and need to focus on things you want to see. Try and focus on seeing something a few seconds forward in time. That will be good practice. If you train regular observation haki before this type, it would be easier to reign in how far into the future you see and when you see it. _

_I cannot believe I am giving advice to an enemy, but you honestly don't act like a pirate so I have no fear you will storm into Totto Land and try to take us out. Not that you could. I won't be replying to any other letters, so this one should be good enough for you to figure it out yourself. _

_One last thing: don't be so trusting. People who trust strangers are fools out on the New World seas. _

_-Charlotte Katakuri. _

Ace grinned at the letter and then put it back into the envelope and into his shorts' pocket. He took the newspaper inside and to the galley, still smiling. See, Katakuri didn't seem like such a bad guy, even if he basically called Ace a complete moron multiple times. Thatch was cooking and Izo was sitting at the table.

He sat down across from Izo, and handed him the paper. Ace had started to do his duties again once the headaches weren't as bad and he could focus more on one thing. He had finished Mika's hat, finally, and was now only working on his job for repairing and maintaining clothes and other fabrics around the ship.

"Why are you so happy?" Izo asked curiously, since there was nothing in the paper to make Ace happy.

"Katakuri replied," he said pulling the letter out of his pocket. Izo's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe it. "He pretty much called me an idiot multiple times, but he did respond and answer a few questions."

"Seriously?" Izo asked. "I can't believe he responded to a member of a rival yonko crew," he said. Ace nodded, though he was smiling. "Can I see it?" his commander asked. Ace nodded and handed him the letter. Izo's blue eyes skimmed the page quickly, and his eyebrows raised a few times. "Yeah, he did make you sound stupid. But he does have some points. I know it's against your policy, but you really can't trust anyone you don't know out on the Grand Line, even in Paradise, but especially here.

"And he has a point about not wearing the hat. I know you're really fond of it, but it is very recognizable. I think you shouldn't wear it on random islands anymore. I'm sorry," Izo said when Ace's face fell. He loved the hat, but knew they had a point in it being dangerous for him.

"Okay, I won't wear it on islands anymore," he said and fiddled with the string against his chest from his hat. More commanders came in while others on the crew trickled in in groups and headed to their tables. Marco sat down next to Ace, looked nice and clean. He smelled good, too. "Guess what came in the mail," Ace asked with a smile. Before Marco answered, Ace held up the letter.

"No way!" Haruta shouted from across from him. "He actually replied?!"

Ace nodded. "He even gave me tips on how to be a better pirate while also calling me stupid," the sayla said pleasantly. "He said he only replied to me casue he thinks I'm not like normal pirates and won't try to cause them trouble with this power."

Whitebeard arrived and asked him to read it to them aloud, so he did. The man laughed, and told Ace that he was already adjusting well and to not rush it when he didn't need to. To just focus on controlling his haki instead of aiming to be a "better pirate".

Jozu said, "Kind of makes me wonder what kind of pirate Dogtooth thinks Ace should be? A cold blooded killer like him and his crew? Some drunk idiot, though strong, like Shanks? His and our definitions of a good pirate are quite different."

Marco nodded. "That is true. Ace is his own type of pirate," he said fondly.

The others at the table agreed, some chuckling at the darkened cheeks of Ace's face. "You know what it said in the paper?" Izo asked. "Apparently some of the super rookies formed alliances to try and take down some emperors."

"Oh no, should we be worried?" Whitebeard asked with an amused voice.

"Surely not," Thatch said dramatically, sitting at the table next to Marco and digging into his own food, one of the last to eat, as usual. "Though that one guy, Trafalgar Law, has a creepy power. Cutting people up and rearranging their body parts is quite disturbing."

Vista smiled. "Worse than becoming a skin coat and having someone else wear you?"

A few of the commanders laughed along with the captain and Ace just had a grossed out look on. That really was disturbing, and he was glad he got a good fruit, once again. Every time he heard of a useless devil fruit, he was thankful he found a strong and useful one, even if he didn't use it for combat. Being a logia gave him a sense of peace, since he wasn't very good at running anymore.

"Perhaps, but it sure is more useful than that one. Then there's Eustass Kid, the one with the highest bounty, though it's mostly from him killing civilians." Ace had another disgusted look on his face. Why would you kill innocent people for fun? It just didn't make any sense to him, how anyone could enjoy that. He got that fighting was fun, and sometimes the pirates accidentally or purposely killed marines and other pirates who attacked first, but never civilians.

"I don't like him," Ace said. "Why kill regular people? What's the point?"

Marco sighed. "Who knows how people like that think. We may be pirates, but we'd never kill innocent people." The commanders nodded, and Whitebeard took a big swallow of his morning sake, even though the nurses wanted him to stop. Ace still hadn't tried alcohol, despite it being very popular on the ship and at the Whitebeard parties, which Ace more often than not skipped and went to bed.

Those nights, Marco would come to bed exhausted, and flop down in his clothes. He couldn't get drunk like the others, but it made him sleepy. Ace always let him sleep the morning after.

Ace thought about the posters he saw, and a question came to his mind that popped up often but faded when there was no one around to ask. "Why are there so few female pirates?" he asked curiously.

Jozu replied, saying, "They're either too weak or don't want to get involved with other pirates who would do unspeakable things. There are many female pirates, don't get me wrong, but they're the minority compared to men. Many of the Big Mom pirates are women, and other crews have women sprinkled about. Then there are the pirate crews that are only women, like the Kuja pirates who live in the Calm Belt. They hate men and they are forbidden from entering their territory."

Ace frowned. It had been weird coming to this world and seeing virtually no females around. His world really was different than this one. "That's sad," Ace said. "Women should be able to explore, too."

"I agree with that. They should be able to," Thatch said. "We've only had a few women who weren't nurses on this crew, but they either left for a different sort of life or formed their own crews."

Ace was glad to hear that some women had been on this ship. At first, he'd thought that females were low in supply and that was why only the nurses were here, but it was more due to the world politics, even if the humans didn't call this kind of thing like that.

After breakfast, Ace practiced what Katakuri told him to. Besides trying to be a better pirate. He worked on both his observation haki and the super advanced one. The pirate had told him that the better his plain observation haki, the quicker he'd get the hang over the future glimpsing.

It was tedious and frustrating, and whenever he got too angry about it, he'd leave the library and go to his work area to do his other responsibilities. He was good at balancing what he had to do and what he wanted to do and still get everything done on time.

Two days after Ace got the letter, a message was sent to their ship from one of the protected islands. One of those rookies had attacked the island to challenge Whitebeard. Ace found out a while ago that this was a reoccurring thing. None had done it since he got there, but no one seemed surprised by the news. They did seem angry about one of their islands getting attacked, and changed the ship's course immediately. The Moby Dick had an eternal pose to each one of the islands under their protection, so it was easy sailing to where they needed to go.

They were in a hurry, so the ship sailed even at night, with much of the crew awake to do so. Marco was one of them, having the best eyesight in case anything came at them. Of course, Ace stayed, too, and it was good practice to try to pick apart presences in the distance, whether they were big animals or people. He hadn't felt anyone in the sky since the first time. He also extended his hearing, the couple staying in the crowsnest.

It felt good to be useful again. More than his usual ways. He'd felt like a burden lately with all his haki problems. Even though it was clear his crew mates didn't see it like that, he couldn't help but feel that way.

-x-

Ace eventually fell asleep against Marco that night, and the mythical zoan held Ace in his lap while keeping his own senses armed. He had to inwardly scold his phoenix for getting distracted by Ace being so near when he needed the powers to help out. The phoenix copped an attitude and flared up, drawing out Ace's flames in his sleep.

"Stop it," Marco hissed. "Don't you want Ace to be safe?" The bird inside him bristled, but relented and got back on keeping watch with Marco. Once the sun rose, Marco woke Ace up so they could go get some sleep. They still had a few days before they'd make it. Ace was exhausted and nearly fell over the crowsnest, so Marco had him latch onto his back so Marco could get them both down.

He carried Ace to bed and tucked him under the covers, where he then curled into a ball, holding a pillow to his chest. Marco chuckled and changed before crawling in next to him. He put an arm around Ace and he automatically latched onto his hand instead of the pillow, and stayed deeply asleep.

It was little times like this that really showed Marco how lucky he was that Ace fell to earth next to _their _ship. If it had been somewhere else, Marco would probably have never met him before, and that was a nightmare that he didn't like thinking about.

For the last few nights, what got Marco to sleep easiest was listening to the tune of the paper-basket song in his head. He couldn't remember the words since they meant nothing to him and he didn't understand a thing, but the soft tune made him sleepy. Probably why Ace chose that song to sing in the first place.

The day they landed on the island, Ace opted to stay on the ship and watch over the railing, curious to see the captain's powers at work for the first time. Well, probably not his devil fruit since it was an island that was important to them, but he might use his bisento.

The rookie crew, the guy that Ace liked the least, Eustass Kid, was already on the shore that the Moby Dick docked near. Whitebeard and the commanders got off of the ship to watch, while much of the crew did as well and the others watched from the railing, crowded together.

Since so many of the pirates were bigger than him, Ace decided to watch from the crowsnest, accompanied by Nick, who was also pretty short, and not because he was the youngest like Ace was. The sayla had been requested to appear in human colors, even if it was a slight chance he was seen, so he was kneeling on the bench looking at the selected battlefield in human disguise.

The commanders stood by the ship, but out of the way, standing in order of division number. Marco had all his attention on the enemy. He sure looked haughty, challenging the strongest man in the world. They all knew his powers had to do with magnetism. That's why none of the pirates had any weapons on them. They were all inside. They weren't stupid. And it would be useless for this normal sized man to take away Pops' bisento. Not that he was weak without it. And if any fragments of metal came at him, he'd just knock it back with a mild quake.

The phoenix zoan wondered what Ace would think of the fight. He wondered if Kid would end up dead by the end. Mortally injured at least. That was a given. Pops may get a few scratched, but that would be it.

"Squirt, you're a real moron to 'take over' one of my islands and then challenge me while I'm angry about you hurting innocent people under my protection," Pops said, not sounding excited about the fight at all. There was something that none of the pirates liked about this guy. Maybe it was because he was needlessly cruel, even to his crew members. Strangers and "friends" alike. Though he may not even consider his men important. Just like Kaido and many other crews.

"I'll take you down today, Whitebeard!" Kid shouted. The pirates scoffed or chuckled at him, most coming from aboard the ship. Marco just had a thought when Kid glanced irritably at the crew on the ship. He was going to exercise his first mate privilege, and he flew up and landed on the railing.

"I'm sorry guys, but for your own safety, you should probably head inside. A big crowd is an easy target for someone who can shoot metal weapons in any direction," Marco explained. There was much complaining and groans, but Marco gave them a look, and they shuffled inside, cursing Kid.

Marco looked up at Ace, who was watching from the crowsnest. "My fire, time to go inside!" he shouted.

Ace climbed down the ratlines, and then said, "Don't call me that in front of other people. It's embarrassing." Marco just laughed. "My flaming chicken."

"Don't listen to Thatch!" Marco scolded, knowing where that had come from and he thought he extinguished those stupid puns, and he did _not _want his lover calling him that. Ace laughed and headed inside. Marco watched with a pout, the best it could be described. But now his family and lover were safe in case the rookie tried anything underhanded.

Marco flew back off the ship, seeing faces pressed against the portholes on the right side of the ship to watch the ship. He laughed lightly when he saw Ace's blue face pressed to the window. He landed next to his fellow commanders.

"They're all gonna be complaining about that later, you know," Izo said conversationally.

"Better than anyone beheaded if the rookie decides to do something stupid like attack Pops' family. Anything happen while I was up there?" Marco asked, leaning against the ship and watching Kid glower.

"Yeah, Kid declared he'd defeat Pops, yada yada. But, he made a mistake and you made the right choice. That idiot threatened us. All of us. I think you can tell Pops didn't like that," Izo replied. Marco had noticed that his entire demeanor was one of anger and protectiveness. After all, a strong rookie, most likely stronger than much of the crew, had threatened Whitebeard's precious family. You could tell Kid wasn't seasoned in the New World because _no one threatens the family. _Especially to the captain's face! Fool.

Thatch said, "So, there's no chance Pops would defeat him and his crew and have us be allies. It's gonna be a one sided beat down, most likely." Kid attacked first, and he didn't have any metal to draw towards him to use, so he used that of his crews' weapons, which was not much. He couldn't manage to take Pops' bisento, of course, since Pops was strong and even the strongest force of magnetism didn't take his weapon from him.

"Squirt, we could have had a fun fight. One sided, but enjoyable. But the moment you threaten my children, the moment you forsake your life," Whitebeard said in an angry voice. The commanders knew it would be over soon. Honestly, what was this rookie thinking?

Marco looked back at the window Ace had been at and could see he had been pushed out of the way so he was only visible by one eye. Marco tuned out of the fight a bit, wondering what Ace was thinking as he watched his captain attack half heartedly, but effectively, at Kid. Ace's eye eventually was pushed out of the way so he couldn't watch anymore.

By the end of the fight, Kid was missing an arm and covered in blood and bruises. Marco was glad Ace wasn't watching the end. Kid was clearly defeated, and shouted at the yonko to kill him now that he'd lost. Whitebeard didn't take joy in killing people, and usually he would have just left him broken and bloodied. But, he couldn't let someone get away with threatening his family in such a way, and he killed Kid, and his crew were scattered.

Easily, Whitebeard wrecked their ship and tossed everyone else into the ocean and away from the island. Kid and his first mate were both dead. It had been a quick fight, and showed that these many rookies were just not ready to fight emperors. They needed more experience. The first half of the Grand Line was much different than the New World, including how powerful the pirates or marines were in paradise.

"That was underwhelming," Vista commented. The other commanders nodded. "Would have lasted longer if the guy didn't make Pops angry in that way." They nodded again.

"This is a good spot to have a party tonight. We'll check on the island soon. See if those rookies did anything we need to help fix," the captain said when he walked over, wiping the blood on his bisento blade on the sand to clean it off.

Marco said, "Good job not destroying the island." Whitebeard grinned and laughed.

"He wasn't much of a fight despite having a sizable bounty," the captain replied. Pirates started flooding out of the ship, knowing the fight was over. Marco saw Ace's blue face, which stood out against the rest of the pink and tan faces, peek over the side of the ship. There was no one left, the rookie crew in the sea. Most likely eaten by sea kings.

Marco was glad that Ace hadn't seen the end, since Marco didn't see him looking out the window anymore. He probably didn't like the outcome, though it was normal for Pops to take out someone who ever threatened his family, especially those that were not commanders. Many on the crew were quite weak. Not in the way that Ace was, but they weren't commanders. Ace was basically weak at fighting by choice. But many others could not fight on their own.

"Well, this is the New World. They just weren't ready to fight a yonko yet, apparently. You'd think he'd know not to threaten the family. Idiot," Izo said flippantly. Kid really was an idiot, and he paid for it with his life. Maybe it would show the other rookies they were out of their depth so early in the New World.

They went back onto the ship, since it was early and nowhere near late enough to party. Well, to get overly intoxicated. People drank at any time during the day, but there was always a limit so they could function and do their jobs.

The pirates came out of the ship, talking about how disappointing the fight was while others argued about not being able to see well cause they were shoved out of the way of the portholes. "So, what got Pops so angry?" Perry asked, one of Marco's division members.

"He threatened the family if Whitebeard held back. So he didn't, and now Kid and his crew is gone," Marco explained, keeping the words "killed" or "dead" out. Trigger words for Ace, even though the sayla knew what had happened, even if he didn't see the end of the fight. But, there was also the fact Ace had advanced observation haki, so he had to have felt the presences disappear.

The others scoffed, and all thought Kid was a damn moron. It was the talk for the next hour while Whitebeard and Marco went to talk to the mayor, and ask if the pirates had done anything to them that they could help fix.

"Surprisingly, they didn't damage or kill anyone. Held the women hostage, but did nothing to them," the mayor said. He had been a mayor for over 20 years, the mayor since Whitebeard had taken the island under his wing. Marco was surprised, considering Kid had killed civilians often in Paradise. It was strange, and the captain agreed.

"Well, it's good that no one was hurt and nothing was damaged," Whitebeard said. "If you need anything, come to us tomorrow afternoon. Tonight is a party and drunken answers won't be of much use."

The mayor laughed, and agreed to that. When the two went back to the ship, some of the pirates were already on land, while the rest were doing their normal business on the ship. Marco sensed Ace in the crowsnest by himself, and he flew up there. His partner was working on what he assumed was another commision considering there was a big pile of clothes he'd already repaired, folded nicely and neatly.

"Hi, flaming chicken," Ace said with a cheeky grin. Marco sighed and sat down.

"_Please _don't call me that," Marco said sincerely. Ace frowned and apologized, and then promised he wouldn't anymore.

"What should I call you, then? Why do you have a nickname for me but I don't have one for you?" Ace asked, looking back down at his work. Marco would never be able to do the kind of work Izo's division did. He may be graceful at fighting, but he knew he was bad at sewing or knitting anything.

"Calling me 'my phoenix' would make the one inside me full of itself," Marco said, feeling a surge of anger inside from the phoenix. He ignored it, and tried thinking hard about it.

"My love? It's not exactly very creative," Ace said, still looking at his work, adjusting the silky fabric to create a new stitch after finishing the one he'd been working on. He didn't see Marco's blush, thankfully. "I probably wouldn't use it much. Kind of embarrassing." Marco didn't feel hurt by that, knowing Ace wasn't meaning anything negative.

While Ace showed open affection with hugs and holding hands, he didn't like kissing in front of other people, or saying things like "I love you". Marco had talked to him about it once, and he said that, on his world, PDA wasn't a big thing. And the first mate wasn't going to push that. Ace already had to change so much, Marco could deal with that.

"I think that's fine," Marco said and then moved to sit next to Ace, watching him work with interest. His hands move quickly and effectively, and Marco could watch for a long time. "There's going to be a party tonight out on the beach. It won't be compact like most parties, so we could sit away from the group if you want. Do you want to try alcohol finally? We have a very light one that we've been saving for you if you want to try it. It's basically alcohol added to lemonade."

Marco thought Ace would be fine from it, since he had no reaction to it on his skin, though it was rubbing alcohol. The sayla thought for a moment, before saying, "I'll try. I don't like the smell of the strong stuff, but I'll try something light. Everyone seems to like it. But I don't want to be throwing up in the morning."

Marco smiled. "Don't worry, I don't think you'll be drinking a lot anyway. Besides, we'll be limiting it for you so it doesn't risk harming your heart, which already works way over than it did before," he replied. "No one will think you're weak if you don't like alcohol. They may not understand how you wouldn't like it, but they won't make fun of you."

Ace nodded. "I know." Marco smiled softly, relishing in the trust of those words in his family.

The party got into full swing around dinner time, with a big bonfire in the middle of the beach, powered by Ace's hottest flames. He didn't use his powers much on the ship, so using it on land made him happy based on his smile. Dinner was shish kabobs on the massive grill that the pirates had rolled down the ramp and onto the beach.

Drinks were flowing by the end of the meal, and Ace was sitting with Izo, Haruta, Marco and Namur who were curious about Ace's reaction to it. Pops was sitting on his chair, which was brought down, near the group of his commanders and Ace.

The sayla held the glass of pink lemonade and sniffed it. It really had barely any alcohol in it, so it was a good start for Ace. Deeming it not smelly, Ace took a sip. Apparently it tasted good as he ended up drinking the whole glass, not as big as a tankard most of the pirates used. His cheeks and chest grew flushed and dark.

Then they saw what kind of personality Ace had when drunk, even on the mildest drink they had, even after _one glass_. He giggled helplessly, and Marco took the bottle away so Ace wouldn't get anymore. "Why?" he slurred. The drink was good, why couldn't he have more?

"You're already smashed, Ace. We don't want it to make you sick," Thatch said, now sitting in the group since dinner was over.

"I wove you guys!" Ace shouted. "Sooo niceeee," he slurred happily with a dopey smile on his face. The commanders sitting around hid their laughter behind their hands. Ace hiccuped, his flames reacting to each one by popping up on his shoulders every time. Marco was extremely amused, but didn't give Ace any more to drink.

"If you love us so much, wouldn't you want to be our brother?" Izo asked.

"You...d be baad brothers," Ace slurred. The commanders frowned, wondering why on earth Ace would think that. "Everyone but Luffy and Shabo are bad brothers." Marco frowned, wondering what he meant. He knew that Ace had a new "unit" after his brothers died, but he didn't give much answers. Just that he was forgotten about sometimes. Marco didn't know all the details. The first mate grew worried about Ace saying something he'd regret.

"Why do you think we'd be bad brothers?" Thatch asked, sounding hurt.

"You got... a fousand of dem. You'd inore me, tooo," he replied, a smile still on his face. "Like neglet. Like eferyone else." Suddenly, those around him who could hear felt sadness.

Ace had been neglected as a child, or teen, and didn't believe anyone but his original brothers would not do that, too. He was ignored by those who were his second family. Suddenly, all of the pieces came together. Ace was afraid he'd be forgotten about, since there were so many of them. It wasn't anything against them, like some had been afraid, but a result of the way he was raised.

"We'd never neglect you, Ace," Haruta said strongly.

"You just say dat," he replied. "You do it soon, too."

Whitebeard was watching with a very upset expression. Marco knew he felt happy that it was nothing against him as a person, but was also very sympathetic to Ace. Marco knew they'd now all be trying to show Ace that he wouldn't be neglected.

"We love you like our brother already, Ace," Thatch said softly.

Ace then laughed and pointed to Marco, who was too close and had a finger poked into his cheek. "Insess. I don' want Marr... co to be my brofer." Marco spit out his drink. The others around him laughed.

"Marco wouldn't be your brother by blood, Ace. You don't need to call him brother," Izo said in amusement.

"I love my brofers but I don' want to kiss dem. Ick!" Ace said childishly, gaining more chuckles around him. "I'm sleepy, Ima go to bed now," Ace announced, and tried stumbling his way back to the ship.

"I'll help you, Ace," Marco said, and wrapped his arm under Ace's shoulder to help him walk until he passed out and Marco just carried him to their room, tucking him in with a glass of water on the nightstand and a bucket near the head of the bed in case he got sick.

When he returned, there was a solemn atmosphere around the people who had heard what Ace said. "We're not letting Ace get drunk ever again," Marco announced when he sat back down. The others audibly agreed.

"I feel sad for him," Thatch said quietly. "He thinks that if he becomes family by name, we'll ditch him, or stop being close with him. It's nothing he has against us or Pops, which I'm happy about, but I'm not happy he was neglected in his second family. No wonder he doesn't want any more brothers if his previous ones ignored or left him out."

Haurta frowned. "I feel bad that we found out like this, but I don't think he would have ever told us on his own. He hasn't even told Marco."

Pops said, "We need to show him somehow that we wouldn't forget about him if he became family."

Izo sighed, and added, "It makes a little sense he'd think that. It's true that we have over a thousand people in this family. And we don't socialize with each and every one of them. But Ace is special. None of my other division members get to sit at the commanders' table. I know it's playing favorites, but I haven't gotten any complaints about it from anyone.

"I think it also has to do with his relationship with Marco," Thatch added. "Maybe it's also that Pops doesn't take out the time to socialize with each son individually. We all know how much Ace craves attention, even if he isolates himself fairly often. We've seen that from the start, except when he felt hated. I know there's just not enough time to socialize with each of us every day-"

"Besides the commanders," Haurta pointed out.

"Besides the commanders, but most of the crew fare fine just being around their brothers. Do we know anything about Ace's parents?" Thatch asked.

Marco shook his head. "He just doesn't want a parent figure. That probably also has to do with neglect. It's a form a child abuse. It may not be as damaging in some ways as physical child abuse, but it would stay with him either way."

Izo said, "But I am glad it has nothing to do with us as people. It's what he's afraid of happening again. Maybe he thinks being in this position is the only reason many of the commanders spend time with him personally." Thatch bristled.

"Well that's not true. We have been friends since the start, since before he officially joined."

Pops spoke up, and said, "Maybe he thinks being separate, a friend instead of a brother, makes him more noticeable. As a person to us. He's the only one on the crew to not consider us family, maybe he thinks staying this way will make sure he doesn't blend in with the rest of the crowd."

Marco sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't think he wants a big family. He's fine with how things are now if we're all just friends. He might never join us as a family, especially if fear is part of what is keeping him separate. As much as I want him to call us family, I really think we can't push it. Knowing Ace, it will make him feel guilty and ashamed. Nobody wants him to be pressured into it and not actually meaning it."

The others nodded in agreement. Pushing Ace would just set them back. He might not feel welcome unless he says he's part of the family. That would be a bad outcome, and possibly one impossible to reverse.

They were subdued for the rest of the party until Marco decided he'd go to bed, and see how Ace was doing. He said goodnight to his brothers and father, and headed back to the ship, heart heavy after the unintentional confession. They'd agreed to not bring up what Ace had said. It would do no good, and just make him upset and embarrassed.

When he entered their room, he heard retching coming from the bathroom. He hurried inside and found Ace throwing up into the toilet. It didn't take long for his body to react to the foreign drink. He was sobbing, and Marco felt for him until he saw a little blood in the toilet. His eyes widened in horror, and he knelt next to Ace.

"Ace? Ace, are you alright?" Marco asked in worry. Ace shook his head. Marco hurried into the room and got the bucket and coaxed Ace away from the toilet and helped him to the infirmary while he held the bucket in front of his face.

Tears were in his eyes, and Marco assumed it hurt. They hurried to the infirmary, and Marco was so glad he was never affected by the alcohol. When they entered the room, he walked Ace to the bed, and called for help from any of the nurses.

"Ace drank alcohol and n-now he's throwing up blood," Marco said. Ace started to say he was fine until he retched again.

Tami touched Ace's forehead, since she couldn't take his temperature while he was throwing up. "He doesn't feel like he has a fever. Ace, does your throat hurt? Nod or shake your head." Ace nodded. "Like a scratchy feeling, as if your throat is raw?" Ace nodded again. "I'm going to look down your throat, okay? If you throw up, we clean up the mess. That's all there is to it. Try to breathe as slowly as you can, through your nose and out your mouth."

Ace did as she said and she shined a light in his mouth to look at his throat. "Did the pain happen before or after you started vomiting?"

"After."

"It looks like it is just your esophagus. I think that the vomiting was too much. Sometimes, violent coughing or vomiting can tear the tissue of your lower esophagus. It can start to bleed if it's too rough. There is most likely nothing severely wrong internally, in your stomach or lungs if breathing is not painful.

"I want Marco to stay up and monitor him. You need less sleep than the rest of us. Marco, calm down, Ace is not going to die." She then turned to Ace, and asked, "Do you throw up often?"

Ace shook his head lightly, breathing as calmly as he could. "Medecine at home treats nausea before throwing up happens." Tami asked about any food that might make him sick. He shook his head.

"Then I'm sure it is just that the unfamiliar and violent retching tore your esophagus. You should be fine, but I'll keep you overnight just in case. It usually takes seven to ten days for this type of injury to heal. You won't have to stay in here the whole time, I'll release you tomorrow if you sleep alright through the night. Marco, how much did he drink?" Tami asked.

"One small glass of the mildest drink we have," Marco replied. Tami blinked twice.

"Alright, no more alcohol for Ace. If that little amount had such a violent reaction so soon, then I think it's best to avoid any drinking." Marco nodded, and Ace looked embarrassed and ashamed, looking the other way even as he held the bucket under his jaw, though he hadn't thrown up for a while.

"Ace, do you remember anything about tonight?" Marco asked. Ace shook his head. _Good. He won't know he spilled out what he's been hiding. _

"Did I do something embarrassing?" Ace asked in worry. Marco was about to say no when something stopped him. Ace was honest to him at every possible moment. He was averse to lying. What would happen if he found out Marco lied about something important? He'd lose Ace's trust, and Marco knew he would be eaten alive with guilt over keeping it a secret. He told his family to hide it from him. But he realized he couldn't do that.

"Tami, will you give us a minute?" Marco asked, going to sit next to Ace. The nurse nodded and left, far enough she wouldn't be able to hear. Ace was looking really nervous, that he did something very embarrassing.

"What did I do?" Ace asked fearfully, completely different than his bubbly and happy voice after being drunk. He'd never see that Ace again, not with the risk of what came after drinking, even that tiny amount.

Marco took his hand, which was clean from hand sanitizer. "You told me, Pops, and a couple of the commanders why you don't want to be our family." Ace's face turned dark blue, and his lips were pursed tightly, corners of his mouth dipping down drastically. "We understand why you don't want to be our family. And we won't push you to be part of it. But we want you to know that we'd never neglect you like your previous unit had. We'd never forget about you, or have you blend into the crowd and become an afterthought.

"I'm so sorry we found out like that. You didn't tell us willingly, and we all feel guilty about that. If we were to find out, it should have been while you were in control of what you were saying. It wasn't our right to find out what you didn't want us to know." Marco kissed Ace's knuckles. "I love you, and I'm sorry I didn't stop you from talking. I'm sorry I found out and you didn't tell me when you wanted to."

Ace looked deeply ashamed. "I forgive you." He turned away so Ace didn't see his face. "It was stupid."

Marco took Ace's chin gently, and turned his face to look at Marco. "You don't need to apologize for being abused as a child. Neglect _is _a form child abuse. There's a lot about my history you don't know, and I've moved on from it mostly, but it's hard to get past things that were in your childhood or youth."

Ace still looked ashamed, and didn't ask Marco what he was hiding. And Marco loved him for that. Anyone else he knew would press for the information he hinted at. But Ace didn't. And it wasn't right for Ace to learn from someone else. Just like how it wasn't right to learn about something about someone when they weren't in control of their actions or words.

"The information won't spread to anyone else. Just me, Pops, Izo, Thatch and Haruta. We're the only ones who heard you, and they won't be telling anyone else, not even the other commanders."

Ace still looked humiliated. He turned his back on Marco and laid down on the hospital bed, curling up under the blankets. "I'm going to bed. Good night," the sayla said quietly. Marco didn't show the hurt he felt with Ace shutting him out. Marco felt ashamed for not stopping Ace talking when he should have. Now people knew something Ace hadn't wanted _anyone _to know. Not even Marco.

"Alright… Goodnight. I love you," Marco said in as calm a voice as he could. He heard a quiet, "Love you too", and then left the room, turning the light off. He went back to their room in emotional turmoil. Had he been taking advantage of Ace's intoxication by asking questions when he clearly didn't have any filter?

He felt cold laying in bed, staring at the empty space that he had gotten so used to being filled with a warm body. The phoenix inside expressed displeasure at Ace not being there. "Stop it. He wants alone time. We'll see him in the morning." He pulled a pillow over his head, and had a hard time falling asleep for the first time in a while.


	19. Resolve

Ace couldn't sleep, laying in the uncomfortable hospital bed in the infirmary. His friends knew now. He didn't know exactly what he'd said, since he couldn't remember what happened after he finished that stupid cup of lemonaide-alcohol. He hadn't thrown up anymore, but he had a headache. And not his usual one, which he had done a good job of not being distracted by today. It was an improvement. And now this made him so humiliated and ashamed.

He never wanted anyone to know _why _he didn't want to be their family. He felt weak. Not in strength, but with his emotions. He should be past this, but there was no way he was going to force himself to be fine with being called son or brother. He wouldn't do that to himself or he wouldn't be able to stand being around anyone.

He was upset with Marco. He was there, he should have stopped Ace from saying anything too personal. He forgave him, he felt regret and guilt, but Ace was still disappointed. And he felt wrong to feel that way. It wasn't Marco's fault for Ace reacting to the alcohol strongly. But he had just assumed Marco would take care of him when he couldn't. And the first mate dropped the ball this time.

Ace still loved him, but surely he was allowed to be upset? He didn't know and wouldn't say anything about it. He'd internalize his problems again. Like he'd been doing, had done his short adult life.

Tami came in a few times to check on him, and Ace pretended to be asleep each time. He had a very hard time falling asleep by himself. But, he needed alone time and wouldn't ask to have Marco come and sleep with him. _Weak. _

When Ace opened his eyes in the morning, he was surprised he'd fallen asleep in the first place. His throat was sore, and he was terribly thirsty. He was given some water, and asked how he felt. He replied in a monotone voice, "Fine." Tami wasn't satisfied. "Really, I'm okay. My throat does hurt a little bit, but not very badly."

"Alright. Well, I'm not comfortable giving you any non-natural, human medication, so I'll ask for Thatch to make you some numbing tea. It'll be drunk at room temperature. Nothing too hot or too cold while your esophagus is still hurt. Soft foods only, like soups and applesauce."

Ace wasn't looking forward to the restricted diet, but it was only for a little over a week. It would be fine. "You don't have to be confined to stay in here, but come in twice a day for a check up. I want to make sure nothing gets worse. And no shouting," Tami said sternly, and Ace promised he wouldn't, and then left.

He had to change, and his clothes were in his and Marco's room. For the first time in a while, Ace wanted his own room again. But only for today, probably. He still loved Marco, he was just still a bit upset about what he said last night, and that Marco hadn't stopped him. He headed to his room, and slowly opened the door, feeling someone inside who he assumed was Marco.

The light slowly entered the room as the door opened, and he saw Marco laying in bed with his eyes open. Ace didn't need the light to be on to see the circles under Marco's eyes. He hadn't slept, because of Ace. The sayla sighed and went to the dresser and took his shorts out. "I'm sorry you couldn't sleep because of me," Ace said sadly.

Marco sat up quickly. "It's not your fault. The phoenix was throwing a fit for much of the night. I knew you wanted space, but it wasn't happy with that." He said it with an annoyed voice. Ace knew he wasn't annoyed with Ace.

"I need to take a shower," Ace said quietly, only glancing at Marco once. He didn't want to see the hurt on his face. Ace was upset, but he did his best to never lie to Marco, even if he hid some of his problems sometimes. "I'll see you at breakfast."

"Okay. See you then…" Marco replied softly. Ace went into the bathroom to shower, thinking about things and not looking forward to seeing his friends pity him. He hated pity, even if it came from a good place sometimes. There was a fine line between sympathy and pity. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between the two.

When he came out, fresh and smelling good, he got dressed and then headed to the galley before he heard an unnatural beeping sound coming from the bedside table. His eyes widened and he ran over, yanking the drawer open and finding his broken bracelet beeping. He thought he might be getting a message from home, or someone making contact with him, finally.

He looked at the cracked screen and frowned deeply. It was just announcing that it was about to break apart completely. It hadn't charged in months, so Ace was still shocked it hadn't died yet. It was unfixable and unusable, but it had still held power, even if he couldn't access it here.

The beeping grew more insistent before it shorted out and a spark struck Ace's hand, stinging just slightly. He sighed, feeling bad that he got his hopes up. He'd gotten used to this world over the past months. Would he leave even if he had the choice? He loved Marco, and he had lots of nice friends. It would be a hard decision, but it wouldn't come. It was completely dead now, any chance of being tracked now lost.

Ace was untraceable due to the fact the warp system had been set to randomize. There was no log of the planets that were visited on that setting. He hadn't known that at the time, but that was the main reason he was stranded and never going to get help from his own people.

He held the broken bracelet, wondering why he'd kept it in the first place. Seeing it just reminded Ace of what he'd lost. He wrapped his fingers around the little device, holding it in a fist now. Instead of going to breakfast like he said he would, he went outside, and stood at the side of the ship. A headache was forming, and he released the haki. No one was out there anyways.

Everyone else was at breakfast, where he should be, too. But he was stuck. He couldn't move from that spot as he stared at the last thing he had on his home planet. He didn't even have the clothes anymore, since they were in tatters by the time he'd landed. There was nothing he had to hold any memory of his old life, besides the drawings he'd made. They were in his and Marco's room in the bookshelf, along with Marco's variety of personal books.

Opening his palm, he stared at it again. His hand was shaking as he stared at it with uncertainty. Ace wanted to use the future seeing, to see if he was brave enough to drop it into the sea, but it didn't come on demand. Not yet. He held it over the side of the ship, before yanking his hand back like it had been burned and shoving it into one of his pockets. He felt weak for being unable to just toss the broken piece of tech into the water. It was as useful at the bottom of the sea than in his hand.

He sighed, and headed inside. He stopped at the door, and looked at the commanders' table with uncertainty, seeing those he'd drunkenly confessed to sitting near one another. But he knew he would hurt their feelings if he sat somewhere else. It wasn't their fault that Ace had gotten drunk. Though, he didn't know how long the conversation had gone, so didn't know if they'd had time to stop him from giving out information.

The sayla sighed again, and went to get his soft food, walking to the commanders' table slowly, biting his lip, though not enough to make it bleed. He sat down, and ate quietly. Haruta, Izo and Marco were talking about going on the island later that day to do various things. Ace was happy no one said anything about what he said the night before.

He did notice, like usual, most of those who would be in the galley were gone, most likely sick. After a while of Ace being quiet, Haruta asked how Ace's throat was doing. Marco or Tami had clearly told them about his sickness. Most likely early since there was soft food put out that usually weren't there.

"It feels okay. I'm only allowed to eat soft foods that aren't too hot or too cold," he replied, a bit stiffly. He noticed the nervous looks on the three, and felt he was making things more uncomfortable. But he said nothing of it, and neither did they. Ace kept fingering the thing in his pocket, and Marco finally asked what it was after they were done eating.

Ace pulled out the bracelet. "It made some beeping noises. I thought it was someone sending me a message, but it was just alerting me that it was out of power. It died. Now I'm officially never going back."

The pirates looked worried, probably because they wondered if Ace was no longer happy there. Thatch was with them by then. "Did… did you still want to go back? To your old home?"

Ace shrugged. "I thought I had moved past it. That I accepted that I was never going back. So I was surprised when I felt sad when I knew there was now no chance of anyone finding me. I'm trying to figure out what to do with it, but I haven't decided yet," the sayla explained honestly.

Izo and Haruta looked upset as well, and Whitebeard was listening from a few yards away. He could tell the man was not actually reading the paper. "Hey, Ace?" Haruta finally asked. "I'm sorry we heard what you didn't want us to. We won't and haven't told anyone else." Ace's face became closed, blank.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said shortly. The others nodded, and said they wouldn't. Ace knew they would some time, maybe after his anger and hurt had passed. He was still upset they got information out of him like that.

Ace still fingered the useless device in his pocket, unable to leave it alone even if it didn't have any chance of being usable. After breakfast, he left the room without Marco, feeling lonely but not wanting to be around anyone. He went to the library, to his favorite spot, and tried to get rid of the oncoming headache, which he could tell by now whether they were from conqueror's or observation. It was observation, building up but he was unable to control it at all. He rubbed his temples, trying to make it go away but knowing it wouldn't.

After about fifteen minutes of the headache getting worse, he saw himself holding the bracelet and snapping it in half. He stilled, not knowing how the future him was braver than the present was. But it showed that he was able to do it. But not yet. The vision may have been only a minute into the future, since he was still in the library in it, but he didn't want to destroy it with his own hands.

After an hour of stewing in his own depressed thoughts, he headed back outside to the back deck, and looked out at the ocean. It was very pretty. He couldn't help but start comparing it to his own home, and he didn't like that. He wanted to forget, to move on.

He once again dangled the bracelet over the side of the ship, and opened the palm of his hand to let it fall into the water. There were a few tears in his eyes as he sat down and curled into a ball against the railing. Did he make a mistake, or was this the best - and only - option to do?

He didn't know.

-x-

Marco was miserable. He didn't know what to do, and felt like a terrible person. The others were feeling this way, too, but Marco was worse. It should have been him to take care of Ace when he couldn't, and that included what had happened. Marco just let him continue to talk. He should have stopped him!

Now, he didn't know what to do. Ace was mad at him, or at least upset and maybe disappointed. They'd never gotten into a situation like this. Usually things went smoothly. He couldn't help but worry Ace would leave him over this. Maybe leave the ship now that some of the crew knew very personal information that he didn't want anyone to know.

He had told his fellow commanders to not say anything, or press him. They did apologize, and Marco wasn't upset about that, it had to be said, but Ace closed immediately after Haruta brought it up. Then he left, and Marco didn't follow.

After an hour of being alone in the galley, he went to search for Ace. he looked everywhere before he headed out on deck. Ace's presence was dimmed, and he was scared from it. He did find him, sitting against the railing, in a miserable position. Marco felt bad, he should be the miserable one, not Ace.

He didn't hesitate to go over and sit down next to him in silence. Ace didn't acknowledge him at first, and it was quiet, until he looked up, and Marco saw tears on his face. He panicked that it was his fault for making him cry. The phoenix inside was angry at Marco. It was uncomfortable, but Marco couldn't blame it for it's anger and disappointment.

The first mate couldn't stop himself from wiping the tears away from Ace's face gently. "Are you okay?" Ace shrugged, but didn't say anything. "Is it about me? And the others? I'm sorry they brought it up. I told them not to."

Ace wiped under his nose, and replied. "It's not from you guys this time. I dropped the bracelet into the ocean. I don't know if it was the right thing to do." Marco was surprised to say the least. The questioning look made Ace elaborate. "It was broken, and looking at it just made me want to go home. My old home. And I can't go there ever again, so what's the point of keeping it if it just makes me sad?"

"I guess there was no point. I'm sorry you can't go back to your world. I didn't know you still missed it like this," Marco said softly, keeping the worry out of his voice.

Ace replied, "I didn't know that either. I thought I moved on. I guess some part of me was hoping to one day be able to make a connection to home." Marco hesitantly put his arm around Ace's shoulders, pulling him closer. He didn't protest, to Marco's relief. "You don't have to worry about me leaving you guys. I'm upset and disappointed, but it's not like I stopped loving you cause you made a mistake."

Again, Ace showed maturity beyond his years. Marco felt silly for thinking one thing, no matter if it was important to Ace, would erase what they had. He couldn't help but bring his knees up, and hid his face in his knees, like a child again. He didn't want Ace to see him upset like this. That he'd made Ace so unhappy, and disappointed in him. "I'm so sorry, Ace. I should have stopped you before, I know that. I won't ever betray you like that again. I swear on my life."

Ace nodded, and kissed Marco's cheek softly. "I already forgave you. Just cause I'm upset still doesn't mean I didn't forgive you. I love you. Everyone makes mistakes. If I forgave and moved on from strangers harassing and injuring me for childish reasons, I won't not forgive the person I love for doing the first thing wrong." Marco smiled and nodded, reaching over to kiss him softly on the lips.

When he pulled away, Ace's face was flushed and he looked around to see if anyone had seen. Marco stifled a laugh at how much Ace was embarrassed with PDA. "I'm sorry, I had to," Marco said, still wearing a smile.

Marco spent much of the day with Ace, soaking in the fact that Ace didn't want to leave him or the crew. He had greatly over reacted, but he just wasn't used to things going bad between them, no matter how temporary. Marco told the others they were not to bring it up again. And not be obvious in trying to convince him they wouldn't neglect him. It would just make things worse. If Marco hadn't told Ace, they could have secretly tried to convince him, but Marco just couldn't do that. It was the wrong thing to do, and it would break Ace's trust in him even more.

The other three commanders and captain agreed that it was better to tell him in the long run, and let him choose someday if he wants to be family instead of friends. Sadly, Ace avoided those who knew, hurting Thatch's feelings. When Ace had gone to do his duties for the sixteenth division, Marco went to Thatch directly.

"Thatch, it's nothing against you personally that Ace has isolated himself from you guys. He's embarrassed. You know how he gets, he hides when he's upset," Marco explained to the chef when he was working on dinner.

"He didn't isolate himself from _you," _Thatch replied, a bit of a bite in his voice. Marco could understand. Thatch was jealous, and rightly so. He was good friends with Ace, so having the sayla shut him out hurt.

"That's different," Marco protested.

"Cause he likes you more? Since you guys became a couple, you're always first pick. Almost every time, he chooses you over me. We were really close! I was there first!" Thatch lamented. He sounded actually angry, surprising Marco. Thatch had never been angry at Ace. Or maybe he was just frustrated.

Marco sighed. "We have a completely different relationship, Thatch," he said calmly. "We share a bedroom, we wake up together, go to bed together. You've been his first choice of his friends. It's different and you know it."

Thatch huffed, sloshing a pan with seasoning in it. "What about when he didn't even sit with us? With me? He started hanging out with a bunch of other people." Marco frowned.

"So are you telling me you didn't want him making other friends and branching out? You only wanted him to be _your _friend? Don't you see how messed up that is? What, is he only yours since you found him first? I hope he never hears you saying that," Marco replied, a bit coldly.

Thatch frowned. "That's… that's not what I meant. I do like that he made friends with his division, but still… I just want to spend more time with him. It's not fair." Marco didn't comment that Thatch sounded like a child, seeing he was truly upset. "I don't want to be pushed out like Haruta had been."

Marco sighed, sad for his brother. Ace meant a lot to him. The sayla did still spend quite a bit of time with Thatch, though it was clear he spent more time with Marco. Ace sat at the commanders' table more often than not those days. The phoenix zoan had no idea that Thatch was feeling this way. But he was being considerate by not bringing it up with Ace. He knew that Ace would react negatively. He'd be ashamed and try to spend more time with Thatch, even if he didn't want to.

Marco would talk to Ace about it. Not too in depth, but he would.

He found Ace sleeping in the library before dinner. He woke up with a small sneeze, startling him awake. Marco chuckled. "Hey, Ace? Can I ask you something? You don't need to answer," Marco said, sitting next to him, shoulder to shoulder. Ace was so warm it was nice. Their fire mixed a bit. He nodded. "How come you cut back your time with Thatch?"

Ace's brows furrowed. "I did?" he asked in confusion.

"A bit. You used to follow him around and hang out at every chance. It doesn't happen much anymore."

The sayla frowned. "That was before I was part of the crew. I have to do other stuff now, and then with the haki problems, I wanted to stay away from everyone, not just Thatch. Thatch is still one of my favorites. Well, my favorite besides you."

Marco knew Ace had a very valid point. He had other duties, he couldn't just hang out with Thatch all day every day. But, maybe Marco would try and have him spend some of his time with Thatch. Well, it was Ace's choice, but he'd suggest being with Thatch more often.

"Did he say something about it?" Ace questioned. Marco would be honest. As often as he could, he would tell the truth to Ace.

He nodded. "I think he feels very guilty about the incident recently. He is upset that you don't hang out with him as much as you used to. It was mostly pouting and complaining like a kid, but he means well. I'm sure he's jealous that you spend much more time with me than him. Again, it's not the most mature of views, since our relationship is much different than you and his," Marco explained. He left out some of the quotes of Thatch that would not be beneficial to his cause.

"Don't couples spend more time together than friends?" Ace asked. Marco shrugged.

"Depends on the situation. You and I spend more time together based on sleeping in the same room and such, as well as being more physically intimate, like holding hands and hugging, and forehead touching. You have more time for me since we're together in different situations." Ace nodded, but was looking a bit guilty. Marco was worried about that, but the truth was what was best, and he hadn't revealed the childish and selfish things Thatch had said, even if he didn't mean them in that way.

"Everything will be fine, don't worry," Marco assured. Ace nodded, but Marco couldn't tell him accurate that was. How sincere. Ace pinched his temples, and Marco noticed his eyes close and face grow irate. Probably another vision that he had no use for. Next came a small wave of conqueror's haki. Everyone had expected him to get the hang of it quickly, and he was improving just by himself. There was no more need for help to not let them build up.

He hadn't trained with Whitebeard on how to activate it on purpose. Getting his other haki under control was more useful at the moment, since he wouldn't be using the conqueror's haki in any fights. "Vision again?" Marco asked sympathetically. Ace nodded, and sighed.

"It's annoying," Ace replied. Marco nodded.

"Is it still very hard to block out feeling everyone on the ship? You've been sleeping better for the last couple nights," Marco pointed out positively. Ace nodded his head.

"I've been sleeping better, but it's still distracting a lot. I'm able to try and not think about it, but it's always there. I always feel everyone everywhere." Marco told him that was good, and then asked him if he'd gone in to see Tami about his throat today. Ace shook his head and stood up, looking over the railing for just a second about his bracelet that was gone forever.

The two walked inside and to the infirmary, holding hands. Marco stroked his thumb over Ace's hand gently and slowly, something he knew Ace liked. When they entered the infirmary, Pops was there for a check up, looking annoyed. Ace sat on another one of the beds to patiently wait for one of the nurses to come to him.

Marco sat with him but listened to what was happening with his father and captain. Ace set his hat down on the bed next to him, but Marco wasn't paying much attention to him. "The drinking is _not _helping your health, Pops. You _need _to cut back on it at least a little bit." The captain huffed, predictably. "I'm serious, it's going to cause problems for your heart. I don't know how your liver isn't destroyed by now." Whiskey sounded quite sour, and Marco knew why. Pops was incredibly resistant to the thought of less alcohol. Marco wished he would take it more seriously.

"I'm fine. Booze won't be my downfall," Pops said stubbornly.

"You have a human body, whether you are strong or not does not make you invincible to things like this. If you continue to drink as much as you are, you will be shortening your life. Cut back drastically, or drink more mild drinks."

Whitebeard scowled, and Marco was feeling deep disapproval in his heart, and the phoenix agreed. It may not be as emotionally attached to Pops as it was to Ace, but it still cared about the captain and his health. "Ace's heart can handle pumping blood from what used to be two. My body can handle some booze."

"Ace is young and was very healthy when the incident happened. You are an old man, Pops. Don't give me that look, you are old. No one can run from age forever and you know that. If I must, I will have the commanders hide the alcohol and distribute it to you slowly and limitedly. You will listen to your doctor or I _will _take drastic measures," the head nurse said hotly, in a sour voice.

Pops grumbled out that he would limit _a little. _Marco knew it was the best Whiskey was going to get for now. Hopefully he'd notice a change after drinking less and decide his health was better than the taste of alcohol.

Tami came out and walked to Ace's bed. "Hi, Ace. How is your throat doing?" she asked with a clipboard and small flashlight.

"A little sore, but eating was fine. It stung a little bit, but not too bad. I haven't been screaming or anything like that," Ace answered. Tami asked him to open his mouth, and Ace did so. Since the back of his throat was not a light red like a human's, it was more difficult to see the tear. The flashlight helped though.

"It doesn't look irritated or any worse. Keep eating soft foods at a normal temperature. Keep your volume low if you can." Ace nodded. It was a short check up, and Marco stayed behind for a bit to talk to Whiskey about Pops' check up.

The head nurse huffed. "That man is too stubborn for his own good. Even _stupid _I'd say. Why risk your health for a damn drink? His heart is having more trouble, and his blood pressure has raised more. I was serious when I said we'd hide his booze for his own damn good. If you see him drinking so often again, we are taking drastic measures to cut back, if not stop completely. He's strong enough to not go through withdrawals. And if he isn't, then what kind of 'strongest man in the world' is he?" Marco could tell she was furious with the captain's stubbornness.

No one bad mouthed Pops and got away with it besides the nurses. Honestly, they had more control over everyone than any of the commanders. After all, she often gave orders to both the captains and commanders.

"I'll do what I can to make him wean off a bit," Marco replied.

"He needs to eat healthier, too, so I'll talk to Thatch about that later today," the nurse said, fixing the sheets on one of the massive beds reserved for the captain and larger members of the crew.

Marco said, "Thatch is in a bad mood right now, so wait a bit for him to cool off." Whiskey nodded and said she'd wait. They weren't nosy unless it came to someone's health. Whatever reason Thatch was angry was not her business.

The first mate left the infirmary to go see if Thatch was still pissy. When he walked to the kitchen, Thatch was no longer there. Marco went looking around for him, and found him in the library with Ace, Thatch trying to teach Ace a complicated card game that Ace had never been able to get the hang of. Marco smiled at Thatch's happy demeanor, and left the two to spend time together.

-x-

A couple weeks later, Ace and Thatch were on an island, one not protected by the captain or any of the yonko, going shopping for food. Ace had wanted to do it with Thatch, since he hadn't in a long time, so Thatch had only gotten half of the food the day before when Ace had his own duties to do.

Ace had not noticed just how much he'd cut back from spending time with his closest friend. Thatch hadn't once brought up anything about the conversation they never should have had. None of them did, and Ace was grateful. He still didn't want to become family, over half a year after joining. He assumed everyone had finally accepted that he was probably never going to. He was very happy nothing seemed to have come from when he was drunk and talked too much.

Ace had actually felt better lately. After dropping the bracelet into the ocean, getting rid of the last remnant of his home world, he felt like he'd moved on as much as he could. He hadn't drawn in the sketchbooks about his world again after filling the third one. They were to stay on the bookshelf in their room.

Many of the books on the shelf now belonged to Ace. Most of them were fairy tales, unlike Marco's more scientific or more serious books. Ace was walking through the non-perishable section, looking for things like flour, powdered milk, sugar, salt and pepper. All in bulk. The size of the wagon was massive, and both of them worked to push it. Mostly Thatch, but Ace did his best until he got too tired and needed to take a break and only walk for a while.

He released a tiny bit of haki the moment he felt the nudge in his mind. He still could not control it like he wished he could, but it was less of a worry now and he could mainly work on the observation and future glimpsing. He was not coming very far with those. Not one bit, but he would be patient. He had no time limit, after all.

Slow and steady wins the race. He carried six massive bags of flour to the cart, which had the Whitebeard symbol on it so no one was stupid enough to steal from it. He loaded many bags of sugar and other powder or granulated goods. By the time they were done at the store, Ace was unable to push the cart.

Thatch didn't often show his strength, but he was incredibly strong. He wasn't usually a main fighter like many of the other commanders, but he could do it. Many times, where there was a pirate raid on the ship, or brash marines, he stayed inside with Ace unless it was necessary to fight.

Ace still had not raised a hand at a human or animal since arriving. Nothing would change that. He'd never fight for fun. Whitebeard had instructed (ordered) Ace to work on ways to retreat or stall people who might be after him. He already knew how to make it impossible for anyone to move by making the surroundings incredibly loud for them.

If necessary, he'd blow eardrums, though he didn't want to. But they'd heal eventually. He was able to move a few meters in fire form at a time, so that was a start. Until he could control his conqueror's haki, he was not allowed to be on the island alone. His bounty was still active after all. He, sadly, didn't wear his hat in public anymore, but no one had recognized him yet. Not in human colors, as he was now.

When the two were walking back to the ship and through the busiest parts of town, they saw some of their crew out and about. "So, then, the marine decided to stow away on our ship. And we ended up dumping him into the ocean since he had a transponder snail and was being a spy!" Thatch said, telling a story that Ace couldn't tell was real or not.

"Why did he dooo… Tha-" Ace slurred, and Thatch let go of the cart to catch Ace as he passed out, turning blue. Thatch easily picked him up and laid him down on the food, draping a blanket over him. He did it smoothly and not worried one bit. Now Ace could not be seen, and could rest easy. It wouldn't be comfortable to lay on the lumpy surface of the packaged and bagged food, but it was better than him being spotted.

They made it back to the ship easily, Ace asleep most of the time. Thatch whistled easily. He hadn't seen anyone see Ace in the couple seconds he was possibly visible, so he was not worried.

The sayla woke up after he was transferred from the cart and to Haruta's arms, still dozing. He opened his gold eyes and looked around to see he was on the ship. He sighed, but didn't apologize since it just made the people a bit irate that he thought it was his fault. "Thanks, Haruta," Ace said when he was set down.

Marco came up from behind and Ace felt his hat set on his head. "How'd it go?" the phoenix zoan asked. Ace smiled. "We got a lot of food. Nothing much happened, but I did have a sleep attack in town. Thatch took care of it, I assume. I helped push the cart a bit, but it was tiring." He said the last bit a little sadly. After all, there had been little improvement on his stamina.

"It'll get better," Marco promised. Ace knew he didn't lie to him, so he really thought that. The sayla wasn't going to take it as a promise, but a hope he had and thought would come true. "Want to go help out with organizing? I was heading over as well." Ace nodded, and said goodbye to Haruta and thank you for taking him up.

"Anytime!" Haruta replied happily. After Ace realized he'd cut out Thatch and he was feeling sad, he started talking to Haruta more. Knowing he had wanted to be friends from the start and Ace just hadn't had enough energy or confidence to be close to more than two people. And those like Mika who was a close friend in only his division.

Thatch was sorting things by expiration dates, and Ace went to help. Soon, Ace was reading the dates as Marco packed the closer ones into one crate while Marco dealt with the heavier objects that were things like the bags of flour, sugar, powdered milk, and such. Powdered milk was important since milk spoiled quickly out on the sea. Powdered milk lasted longer. It may not taste better, but it was pretty close and much more practical.

They spent a good hour stocking and recording dates, before Thatch headed to the kitchen to bake some cookies for their hard work. Ace decided to help, pressing the homemade cookie dough into place on the parchment sheets in the pan. Marco was reading at one of the tables while the two worked.

It was a happy day, and Ace spent most of it with Thatch and Marco, even bringing his sewing tools and that day's work into the library where they were talking. And Ace looked forward to going back into town with Marco the next day.


	20. Revelations

**swee2iepea: Thank you! I'm glad you like it.**

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**Longer chapter this time with fluffiness! And some interesting developments about Ace! Enjoy~**

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Marco woke up with Ace tossing and turning. It was the middle of the night, and Ace had a grumpy face on, even as he slept. It would be cute if it wasn't concerning. Marco assumed he was having a nightmare, but before he could wake him up, Ace did himself. He opened his eyes scowling.

"You okay?" Marco asked quietly, turning on the lamp on his side of the bed. Ace rubbed his hands down his face.

"I keep waking up and then falling back to sleep. I'm not having any nightmares, I don't know what's up," Ace replied honestly. Marco ran his fingers through Ace's soft hair. "I wish I could take some sleeping pills." The nurses refused to give Ace any medication for any reason, not wanting to take a risk that might be too costly.

Marco offered that they could make some tea for him. "That would just wake both of us up more. Going into the kitchen and waiting for the tea to be done."

"Well, there's this thing that I did to myself when I was a kid and couldn't sleep. It might work on you." Ace asked what it was. Marco decided to show him, and ran his fingertips up and down Ace's arm. If he had any body hair, he probably would have gotten goosebumps. "It would relax me, but it was harder to fall asleep doing it to myself."

Ace asked why his family didn't do that. "Well… I didn't have a family. So I only had myself to do it," he replied. Marco had never talked about his childhood with Ace, since he never asked. Ace frowned, clearly feeling bad for Marco. "I have a family now, so everything is okay," he made sure to say. "Now, it's not time to talk about such things. Does it feel good?" Ace nodded, and rolled onto the side he usually slept on while Marco ran his fingers along Ace's skin.

The sayla dozed off but Marco made sure to continue doing it for quite a while before he thought Ace wasn't going to wake up again. When he woke up next, it was morning, and Ace was still asleep, thankfully. The mythical zoan slowly got off the bed, trying his best not to move the blankets Ace had hogged. Almost every morning, Marco would wake up with most of the blankets off of him and tangled around Ace. It didn't bother him, it just made him smile. Ace had never noticed he did it. Either Marco woke before him or he was too sleepy or distracted to notice most of the blankets were on his side.

Marco went to take a shower while Ace continued to sleep, looking forward to going on the island with just the two of them. The day before, after he helped with the stocking of supplies for the infirmary with Curiel, he'd looked around the town and found a path that lead into the forest to a meadow. He planned on taking Ace there. Not for anything special, but just to have some alone time that wasn't in their room or the library. Sometimes Marco disliked having so many people around all the time when they could get little complete privacy.

When he came out, Ace was awake, putting his boots on as he'd already dressed while Marco was in the bathroom. Both of them went to brush their teeth in front of the sink and mirror. Marco looked nice and clean, while Ace had bed head from tossing and turning during the night.

Marco smoothed down the mess of dark hair absentmindedly. Once they were done brushing their teeth, putting both toothbrushes into the little cup, they headed out of breakfast. They were going out after breakfast, and Marco ate quicker than usual to get the blanket out of one of the many linen closets in the hall, and then a basket and to raid the storage room for food. It wouldn't be noticed. Just snacks and treats that they had more than enough of.

There was no hiding the basket from Ace, so he looked a little surprised, but happy. Marco went into the kitchen, Thatch for once not biting his head off, and got some fruits from the refrigerator or the bag of them hanging on the wall.

The two set off before most go to breakfast. When they passed the captain in the hall, he smiled at them. "Have fun, Marco, Ace," he said, refraining calling Ace "son". Marco had noticed he was having a lot less trouble not almost calling Ace son. He learned just like his sons that Ace had reasons for not joining, and there was nothing they could or should do to change his choice.

The two walked through the quiet town, bustling only with people opening up their shops for the day. Marco held the basket in one hand with Ace's hand in the other. The sayla was, as usual on islands, in human disguise. Ace didn't ask where they were going, and Marco didn't tell him.

When they reached the edge of town, Marco led him through the bushes, over a very light path that not many people had been on, considering it still had grass. Ace looked around at everything, enjoying the leisurely walk through the trees and grass until they walked into the meadow.

"Wow. It's so pretty," Ace said, looking at all the tiny flowers on the ground. Marco grinned and opened the basket to pull out the blanket, laying it on the grass and setting the basket down. Ace sat down on the blanket, taking his boots off and setting them on the edge of the picnic blanket. "How did you find this place?"

"I went exploring after going shopping for the nurses yesterday. I found a couple of small cafes, but I thought this place would be better. More privacy, quieter. We just had breakfast, so you're probably not hungry, but I brought some food and drinks," Marco explained, and pulled out a bottle of lemonade and two little cups.

Ace laid down on his back, smiling. Marco laid down on his side, facing Ace. He twirled a strand of Ace's hair with his finger. It had grown longer, down to just above his shoulders. Marco liked the length; there was more to play with. They looked at the clouds for a while, talking about small things, nothing too deep.

Their hands were joined, resting on the blanket between them. "Hey, Ace? About what I said last night-"

Ace stopped him. "I don't want you to tell me if you don't want to," he said seriously. Marco smiled and kissed the finger in front of his lips.

"I want to," Marco said simply. "It's not too happy a story, but I want to tell you." Ace nodded, and turned on his side to look at Marco, head resting on his folded arm. "I've been on the crew since I was a teenager, first to join. Pops found me starving on the beach of some forgotten island. I had just escaped a slaver's ship. The only reason I got off was that they fed me my devil fruit for fun and it ended up being their downfall.

"I'd killed all the slavers on board. I still regret not helping everyone else, but I was able to fly away, but not far. I mostly cared about saving myself at the time. I was a slave for six years to a noble, not a Celestial Dragon, but a regular noble, still thinking he was above everyone else." Ace's face had turned very grim, eyebrows tilted downward. Marco continued.

"I had all types of scars and burns, but when I ate the phoenix fruit, all of them disappeared. Didn't mean I wasn't starving. Pops was on this little boat, only big enough for him to sail on. He'd just left another crew that had been disbanded, and set out to make his own crew.

"I attacked him when I saw he had food, like a rabid animal. Rabid bird. My powers were still difficult to control, so I wasn't very good. He just thought it was entertaining. I didn't even get a scratch in.

"I asked him why he did it years ago, but his answer was that I was a fiesty brat that had a good future. I was exhausted after being useless. He gave me a bunch of food, and offered for me to sail with him. I was only fifteen, I don't know why he chose _me _for his first crew member.

"I never gave him my story, or what I'd been through. Not until years later. He sailed us back to that island and destroyed everything for that noble. His home, his money, status, everything. It was a fate worse than death for him. We released the slaves he had collected besides me, and they all took revenge against him. I don't know where they are now, that was thirty years ago." Marco waited for Ace to ask any questions.

His lower lip was wobbling, probably in sympathy for him. For someone he loved to have gone through that, it must be very upsetting to hear. "What about your first family?"

"They died," Marco said simply. "I barely remember them, I was young when it happened. I'm not lucky like you, who remembers your first family. I just know they were kind and loving. Pops became my new family, and all those who had joined us over the decades are my brothers."

Ace sat up and hugged Marco tightly. "I'm sorry that happened to you," he said quietly. Marco wrapped his arms tightly around Ace's warm body, burying his face in Ace's hair. "Does everyone have dark backgrounds like this?"

Marco nodded. "Most didn't live pretty lives before they joined. Pops picks people he thinks need a family, or finds them interesting and with potential."

"Why is everyone so happy if all of these horrible things happened?" Marco smiled and tucked a strand of Ace's hair behind his ear.

"Because they have a new family. They are loved now, no matter their pasts. Love from a family heals the heart more than any therapy could ever do. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I knew all about you and you didn't know about me." Marco felt bad that he had known so much about Ace, and he had barely told Ace anything about his past.

Ace frowned at him. "It's no ones' business besides yours," he said strongly.

Marco smiled softly. "I was also worried, in the beginning, that telling you would almost be a bribe. That you'd be much happier if you were family. That you might think I would play it up to get you to join. I know now that you would never think I would do something like that.

"There's a reason everyone wants you to join _other _than just to be your brother. We want you to be as happy as you can be. But, we've also been proved that you're perfectly happy even when not included in the family by name. No one is going to pressure you anymore. Promise. And please don't apologize again," Marco said when he noticed Ace's look. "You break the mold in many ways, and this is just one of them."

Ace smiled and nodded. "You're happy right?" Ace nodded again. Marco leaned in and kissed him gently. His hand ran through Ace's hair. Ace was always wary of kisses, but it seemed mostly because they had little privacy on the ship. Someone could always walk in, or interrupt them. He kissed Marco back with as much enthusiasm, making Marco's heart beat quickly.

Marco turned over and Ace landed on his back, Marco continuing to kiss him. It didn't go any further than kissing, and Marco was happy with just that. A long time ago, he had thought about the possibility of sex with Ace sometime in the future, but Ace hadn't once shown that he would ever want to go further than they already did. Marco was fine with that, as long as Ace was happy and comfortable. Besides, it was quite possible any type of sex would be impossible with Ace.

After all, Ace wasn't human. It was hard to remember sometimes, even when he was in his normal colors. He looked and acted so human.

Marco laid down on Ace, his head on his bare chest while Ace had his hands in Marco's hair and cradling his head. It was more intimate than any kind of kiss.

The two stayed in the meadow for hours, easily finishing off all of the food and drinks Marco had packed. Marco had never been so comfortable in silence like he was with Ace. Even with Pops, it wasn't like this. "I love you, Ace."

"I love you, too," Ace replied with a bright smile and dark blue cheeks.

-x-

Ace and Marco were heading through town, going to get some coffee at the little places that Marco had checked out the day before. The sayla was carrying the basket, swinging it back and forth. It had been a great day, and he enjoyed the very alone time with Marco. He didn't know if he'd be comfortable to kiss like that on the ship. Someone could always interrupt or walk in.

Ace had decaf coffee, since any drink with too much caffeine had negative side effects, especially on his poor heart, which was doing its best. It didn't need extra hurdles to jump. Marco got strong coffee, and the two walked around a bit. The town was bigger than the usual ones that Ace had explored.

With his haki putting him on edge with all of the people walking around, holding Marco's hand was like a lifeline. He stayed constant next to Ace while everyone else moved about. He did notice a large crowd of people, all in an organized pace. Ace turned around before Marco did, taking a sip of his hot coffee, since he kept his hand hot enough to keep the temperature hot.

Marco turned around as well, and scowled, slowly pushing Ace behind him. Ace watched from around his much taller partner as who looked like a World Noble walked around the corner. "Who is it?" Ace asked Marco.

"World Noble." Ace stayed silent, thinking of everything Marco went through, and wondering what he felt whenever he saw nobles. It couldn't be often since they weren't spread about the New World much.

"He looks much more valuable blue," the haughty, ugly man in front of the procession said. He was sitting on a human in chains, and it disgusted Ace. He scowled, lip curled up in disgust at this human. Ace may not think they're that good of a species as a whole, but this was a new level of low.

Marco tensed, but said nothing until the nobleman said, "Hand him over, pirate."

"Excuse me? You think you can give me an order?" Marco said in a cocky voice, though Ace could tell he was very uncomfortable, the tight grip on Ace's wrist telling. It didn't hurt, but it was tighter than usual. The noble looked furious at his words and tone.

"How dare you speak to me like that, filth?!" the noble sputtered angrily. The men around him, clearly guards of some sort, pulled out guns. Luckily, bullets could not hurt Ace or Marco. It was an empty threat to them.

Marco said, "I think I'm the one looking at filth, here. We're Whitebeard pirates, do you honestly think you'd ever get away with taking one of our own? Even if you got him, we'd hunt you down and kill you painfully while taking our family back."

Ace didn't like this Marco. He sounded mean, but Ace knew he wasn't like this and he was only speaking this way because of their situation. The Whitebeards may be against slavery, but it wasn't like they purposely went around freeing them. They did their best to avoid nobles, and the nobles did their best to stay away from them in turn.

"You think I care that you are a Whitebeard pirate!? Give him to me! I command you to do so!" the man outraged. Ace wondered how someone could be so reactive. He was from a zero to ten in intensity after just a few words. Marco scoffed, and turned around, dropping his coffee in the trash.

"We're going back to the ship, Ace," Marco said in a tight voice. Ace nodded and tossed his drink, too, keeping up with Marco's fast pace. They were still following the two at a hurried pace. Marco ticked his tongue, clearly feeling them pursuing, and the noble was screeching obscenities.

"Wait, Marco," Ace said, slowing and turning around, to Marco's surprise. "Prepare your ears." Ace knew that Marco's ears wouldn't be hurt. And most civilians had fled the moment the noble and Marco got in a confrontation. Ace raised the sound in the area to 120 decibles, and the noble and guards dropped their weapons to cover their ears, some screaming. Marco made no show that it was bothering him, and Ace was unharmed by his own power.

Since Marco would be unable to hear Ace, he motioned that they could go, and went in a hurry. Ace knew Marco was wondering how far they could get from the source of the noise, which faded the further they got from where the two had been.

Once they were completely out of range, Marco grumbled. Ace pulled on his hand. "Nothing happened. I still had a great day, don't let that spoil it," he said with a reassuring smile. "Don't let that guy ruin it." Marco's face relaxed and he smiled, rubbing Ace's hair before putting his arms around his shoulders.

"How long will the sound last there?" Marco wondered as they leisurely walked back to the ship.

"For as long as I want," Ace replied. They made it to the port, where the ship was not docked after yesterday since everything had been stocked up. "Is that their ship?" he asked pointing to a quite obnoxious ship. It looked like a marine vessel, but more expensive looking.

Marco nodded. "Let's wreck it so they can't follow. We're leaving tomorrow, or today if necessary." Ace nodded, and the two went to the ship. Marco told Ace to get on his back for safety, not wanting to leave him on the ground alone even if he could last for Marco to come back. Ace latched onto Marco's back, who transformed to use his talons to rip apart the sails so they were utterly useless. Ace had his face in the fiery feathers, which wrapped around him.

Rarely was Marco in full phoenix form with Ace, so now that it was released, the phoenix was smothering Ace with it's warm and soft flames. Marco picked up the picnic basket with his foot and then just flew them the rest of the way to the ship.

They landed gently on the ship, and Ace kept his eyes closed, trying to calm the nausea. "Sorry, love. I didn't mean to make you sick," Marco said in concern. Ace shook his head.

"I'm fine. The noble can probably move again, I got distracted," Ace replied. Marco scowled, and Ace touched Marco's face. "Don't let him ruin it. Nothing happened that we need to be concerned about."

"How did he know that you were _you? _You aren't blue!" Marco shouted, clearly very worried. Ace didn't take his shouting as anger directed towards him. Ace put his hand on his chin.

"Maybe someone saw me yesterday? When I passed out and Thatch covered me up. Maybe whoever saw it reported it to him, or something?" Ace hypothesized. They always knew it was dangerous when Ace had a sleep attack since it made him revert back to his normal colors. "Hopefully they didn't get any photos of me like this," Ace added, and then changed back to his natural blue.

Marco grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. Marco had landed them at the back deck, so they walked to the middle deck to report to Whitebeard about what happened. Ace had had a really nice time on the island with Marco, so he wished the first mate wasn't upset about it enough to ruin their outing.

"Son? What's wrong? I thought you and Ace went out on the island for the day?" the captain asked, concerned in his voice, probably because of Marco's demeanor, not Ace's. He was disgusted by the noble but he wasn't going to let it ruin his very nice outing.

"A noble tried to get Ace. He knew who he was, even though Ace was in human colors," Marco said immediately. Whitebeard grew concerned, and Ace felt a bit bad for being exposed. He had no control over it, but it still made him feel bad and guilty, that it was his fault.

The captain asked for what happened in detail, which Marco explained. Not about their alone time, but about what happened when the noble confronted them and after. Whitebeard was surprised with the effectiveness of Ace's power that did not hurt anyone in the long run. After all, Ace hadn't used it when someone else was around to see.

"How do you control the ability's volume?" Whitebeard asked curiously.

"Well, I had to study up about decibels and what is too bad for a sayla. I don't know if the measurements are the same on earth. But humans seem much more weak to loud sounds than my people," Ace explained simply. Whitebeard asked if he could only do it to certain people or if everyone in the area felt it. "People in the area. That's why I told Marco to prepare for the loud sound. There was no one else around to hear it."

"Very interesting," Whitebeard said sincerely. Ace smiled and thanked him, and then said he was going to put the basket and blanket away, going to put the dishes into the sink for Thatch to wash. Marco walked over and kissed his forehead before Ace left. It was very different from the kisses they shared in the meadow. Ace's cheeks flushed when thinking about it. It had been very nice.

When he walked into the kitchen, Thatch wasn't there, so Ace just put the glasses and utensils into the sink, filling some water into the glasses. He left to put the basket and blanket away. This blanket, he was told, was used for picnics, so they didn't need to wash it from it being on the grass.

Ace headed to their room, and he put his hat on his head, where it belonged. He looked out the porthole window onto the island. He hoped nothing happened with the noble. Someone on the ship had once told him that anyone who harms a noble, especially the Celestial Dragons, were killed by marines. Ace was confident that their crew would be fine, but it would still cause trouble.

He left the room, and went to the library to look for something new to read, though when he picked a book, he was unable to read a single line, mind lost in what Marco had told him earlier that day. He'd kept himself from thinking about it during their outing, but it was so hard to hear what he'd been through.

To be a slave sounded horrible. But, he got out. He was able to escape and was happy now. Ace tried to get himself to leave it at that, but he was just so disgusted with humans. Well, the bad humans. He still hadn't been proved that the majority of humans were good. He hadn't met enough to outweigh that the government and military forces were horrible people who didn't care about the citizens, but only the rich and "important". The humans' system was incredibly flawed.

During his thoughts, Marco came in, Ace alerted easily since he could only tell when it was Marco. Being around him so long made him recognizable by haki. Marco walked up the spiral stairs to Ace and sat down next to him. "How you doing?"

"I'm fine. Why?" Ace replied.

"I know you're probably thinking about what I told you earlier. I don't want you to dwell on it. I'm happy from it. Besides, I wouldn't be here right now if I hadn't been on that slave ship," Marco reasoned, tucking a strand of hair behind Ace's ear. The sayla's gaze fell to the floor.

"You must have been so unhappy and scared… I can't imagine going through something like that," Ace replied softly.

Marco gave him a sad smile. "I don't want you to imagine, Ace. We'll keep you safe, no one will harm you like that. I'd tear the world apart to save you, and I know so would everyone else." Ace nodded, not wanting to think about it anymore. "You stayed so calm when the noble said he wanted you."

Ace smiled at him. "Of course. You were there," he said simply. He grinned when he saw Marco blush slightly. It was difficult to get Marco to blush, so he always felt proud when he was able to. Marco hugged him close, and Ace wrapped his arms around Marco, as well.

-x-

There was no more trouble with the noble, surprisingly. Marco kept watch during the night, making sure no one came. He'd go back to bed before Ace woke up. Marco did his best to not let the encounter ruin the day. Ace had been able to, Marco could, too.

He was left to think about the day, and wonder if the privacy the two had that day had made Ace more willing to be physical, an example of the heavy kissing session that had never happened before. Not like that, in the many months the two had been a couple. Their room was enclosed, but the walls were thin to the other rooms with the commanders. After all, they heard Ace when he was crying once.

The phoenix zoan's cheeks darkened, even if no one was around, when he thought of the kissing, his hands in Ace's hair below him and Ace's hands in his. It was nice, and then just laying there was one of the most relaxing things Marco had ever done.

Marco had been nervous about Ace's reaction when he planned to tell him about his past. He knew Ace would not see him any different, but Marco had admitted to killing many people, slavers or not. And then his old master's life was ruined later. Ace hadn't frowned or flinched when Marco had explained. Instead he wore a look of deep, sincere sympathy that Marco rarely saw in anyone. It wasn't pity, but sadness over a loved one going through something traumatic.

And he'd told the truth when he said he wasn't trying to bribe him or make propaganda in his story about joining the family. It was true that many of the members had gotten better under the blanket of being in a family, by blood or otherwise. And it was also true that the pirates could clearly see Ace could be perfectly happy while only being a crewmember, and not a claimed brother or son. Like Marco said, Ace didn't fit the mold in many ways and this was just one more.

After Jenson came out to switch with Marco, he headed to their room, opening the door quietly and finding Ace curled into a ball, mouth slightly open and breathing slower than usual, showing he was deep asleep. Marco was very quiet with closing the door and going to change in the bathroom before brushing his teeth and crawling into bed next to Ace.

Sometimes Ace sleep talked, but it was incredibly rare and Marco was always happy when he heard it since Ace said the strangest things. "Money… laundering…" he mumbled. Marco put his hand over his mouth to keep the chuckles away, wondering what on earth Ace was dreaming about.

He pulled some of the blankets over him, and Ace latched onto it once it moved even slightly. He rolled over with the blanket being pulled to Marco, and made a "hmmm" noise before growing silent once again, now both of them under the blankets, even if Marco knew he'd wake up with none and Ace with all.

Like he predicted, he woke up with his partner cocooned into the thick blanket. For someone who was made of fire and unable to get cold, he sure did like being under the blankets. Ace woke up not long after. Marco wasn't too tired, able to function just fine with little sleep, though he needs at least a couple hours.

Marco came out of the bathroom to see Ace sitting up in bed, sleep still on his face with his hair a mess. He always looked so young when he was sleeping or just woke up. Marco noticed he'd worn one of his own shirts. "You're wearing my shirt?" Marco wondered. Ace stretched and nodded.

"You were gone so I couldn't smell you as well," Ace said simply, throwing the covers off and standing up. Marco grinned at the response, glad he smelled good to Ace. Ace smelled good, too, though it was hard to describe. He used the same hair products that Marco did, but smelled differently. "I gotta take a shower," Ace said, patting down his bed head.

"There are some clean towels in the linen closet," Marco said.

Ace smiled. "I know, I was the one to put them there," he pointed out. Marco chuckled.

"After you get out of the shower, you have to tell me about what you were dreaming about," Marco said, walking to the bed and making it a bit neater but not attempting to make it perfect. Just place the blankets back on the bed.

As Ace went to his dresser to pull out new shorts and underwear, he asked, "Oh no, what did I say?" Marco laughed.

"'Money laundering'," Marco replied. Ace looked surprised. He clearly didn't remember any such dream, disappointing Marco. How did he even have a dream about that? It was still funny, though. Ace just shook his head, amused but confused, and then went into the bathroom to take a shower.

Marco went into the porthole, which faced the land, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. He was very surprised no one had come after them. Guards would do anything a World Noble would say, but they were the Whitebeard pirates. Maybe that scared them off? It was the only logical thing, unless they called an admiral and he just wasn't there yet? After all, this island was very far from Paradise, where the admirals stayed.

He was also surprised a noble had been here in the first place. On the New world seas. Why would a noble, who considers himself a god of some sort, put his life in danger by sailing the New World sea? Fool.

Marco heard aloud crash in the bathroom, and assumed Ace had passed out. He was worried, but didn't know if Ace would be comfortable with him seeing him nude, whatever that looked like. But he was worried Ace had hit his head on something. He braced himself and slowly opened the bathroom door to see Ace was laying with his feet in the shower, but face first on the tiled floor.

A towel was just barely covering over his butt, and Marco knelt down. "Ace? Baby, are you okay?" If Ace just woke up from a nap, and had a sleep attack, they only lasted a few minutes. He moved Ace's face to the side to breathe easier, and didn't move him in any way other than to pull the white towel up a little bit.

The sayla woke up, and looked up at Marco with wide, horrified eyes. After all, he was practically naked. "Ace, don't worry, you had a towel on. I didn't see anything. I was worried you'd hurt yourself so I came in," Marco explained. Ace looked behind him and did see a towel over his butt and low back.

"Th-thanks," Ace said, and Marco left immediately. Ace came out a few minutes later, face a dark shade of blue.

"Ace, I didn't see anything. I promise, I swear on Pops' mark," he said. Ace, and everyone else, always knew he was telling the truth when he swore on the mark, so he knew Marco was telling the truth, and the embarrassment faded.

"I've never passed out in the bathroom before since coming here," Ace chose to say instead, clearly trying to forget about the embarrassing moment.

Marco agreed, he'd never heard or seen Ace have a sleep attack while showering. If he weren't a logia and already durable, he could have hit his head on the bathroom counter or toilet. "We won't tell anyone," Marco said, Ace nodding in agreement.

When they entered the kitchen, most of the commanders seemed to be there, including the captain. It was a strange sight, so early in the morning. When they approached the table, Ace backed off a bit, assuming this was a meeting that he was not welcome at.

"Hello, son, Ace," Pops said. Ace and Marco replied with slow, almost suspicious greetings. "Ace, you're welcome to sit with us. It involves you, after all." Marco and Ace sat down next to Thatch and Haruta, across from the captain and Jozu.

"Is everything alright?" Marco asked, since this was quite an uncommon sight.

"It turns out that the noble was injured and has blamed us. An admiral will be setting sail from Marineford, but it will take weeks at least for them to reach this island. We'll be long gone, leaving this morning. We were to leave soon either way. Apparently, after the sound stopped, the noble fell from dizziness and broke his arm."

Marco knew they must have heard the transmission from Haruta's team, which tapped lines easily when they were close enough. "Why aren't they coming after us now?"

"You took away the chance of them escaping if it went badly for them. I assume they're waiting for backup. There was also a message about Ace, though they still don't have his name. The noble will blame the injury on Ace, so his bounty may go up again. We're unsure if any photos have been taken.

"You did the right thing, Ace. It was his mistake that he got injured. I'm sure Marco would have done much worse if it were left to him," Whitebeard explained. Ace nodded in response. "So, we'll be leaving after breakfast."

They were in no especial hurry, since they knew it would take the admiral who was dispatched, Aokiji, weeks if not months to get there. It was basically a moot point, but they were following the order of nobles, of course something like that would not matter much to them.

After breakfast, everyone worked to leave the island, Ace up in the crowsnest with binoculars to see if anything or anyone were coming to the ship as they prepared to leave. Marco worked to unfurl the highest sails.

Nothing happened, and they set sail smoothly. Marco flew Ace down the deck, and the ship left to the next island, which was one of their own. Marines knew not to go on protected islands or they'd end up dead by any of the allies nearest. Pirates were taken care of by the main ship, but marines were simple to pick off and it happened faster and gave the point across sooner.

At dinner that night, the crew learned something from Ace they hadn't known. Thatch was sitting across from Ace, eating his delicious food while Ace scarfed down garlic bread with the pasta dishes that were that night's specials. "Hey, Ace? When is your birthday?" Thatch asked. They knew he was 20, but he hadn't had a birthday yet. At least, they never asked and he never said anything about it.

"Not for another 412 days," Ace replied simply. Those around him grew confused. "What?"

Izo asked, "Ace, how many days are in a year for your planet?" This caught the attention of all the commanders and captain within hearing range.

"656 days," he replied casually. The table and Marco were shocked. Earth had 365 days, meaning Ace, in human years, was much older than 20. "Why do you ask? Is it not the same here? Your days last around the same."

"Wait! That means you're… 36 years old in human years!" Haruta shouted, doing math on a napkin with a pen. "That means you're older than I am! Hey, is that what you meant in the beginning by saying we didn't look good for our age?"

Ace seemed pretty surprised, too. It clicked to Marco that Ace had to be older than 20 because of how mature he was. Meaning that for everyone one year for humans, Ace's planet was a bit less than two. Did that mean Ace had a longer lifespan than Marco?

"I guess. I didn't think that your years were shorter. I just thought you had more months in the cycle," Ace replied. He was then asked about Sayla's lifespan. "Sixty years."

Haruta had a pen and continued math on a napkin furiously. "That means your people's lifespan, compared to ours, is 107 years old. Our lifespan is in the seventies, though it varies per person."

"That's not true. Different sayla have different lifespans. Women live a lot longer than the men, and blue and purple sayla live shorter than green and pink. Do all humans have the same expected lifespans?" Ace seemed flabbergasted, even though his system was much more complicated. Haruta nodded.

They hadn't been fascinated with anything new about Ace's world since there hadn't been any new information out. "Why didn't you tell us about that?" Thatch whined.

"No one asked. It didn't seem weird to me so I never had a reason to bring it up," Ace replied honestly, twirling his fork in the pasta and then taking a bite.

Marco was sad that Ace's lifespan was much longer than anyone on the crew. They'd die around him, even if it didn't happen for many more years. Pops was the only one above sixty. It made Marco so sad that Ace could end up all alone. But, they weren't sure how long Marco would live with his devil fruit, since he wouldn't fall ill as long as he had it. He still aged, but had no health problems.

"When is your birthday, Ace?" Haruta wondered.

"On the day of the New Year. Well, at my home world," Ace replied.

Thatch scowled. "But we already had a New Years and you didn't tell us?!" he raged. Ace rose his eyebrows, and pointed out that his birthday was not for a while, so there was nothing to celebrate at that time. Thatch pouted, and Marco put a hand over his partner's shoulders, amused with how calm Ace was and Thatch was getting progressively more cranky.

As Thatch stewed and Ace ate slowly, watching the chef and clearly wondering what the problem was, Marco thought about the fact that Ace was older than they thought he was, at least compared to humans. Marco had had no problem dating someone half his age, but things suddenly felt different. Ace was still the same person, but he was less than ten years younger than Marco.

Marco had always thought Ace was just an old soul, wise and mature beyond his age. He may look 20 years younger than Marco, but it now felt a little more serious. They were both adults. Ace had been an adult, but in their eyes, barely older than a teenager. It was nice, suddenly, not being so much older. He didn't think things would change from this, but it was nice to know.

The ship came across some stupid pirates, not a super rookie like Kid _had _been, who threatened the ship. It was not even a challenge, as they didn't even battle on the Moby Dick. Ace stayed inside, napping in their bedroom, as the pirates destroyed the enemy crew. It was quite disappointing to be honest.

"What losers," Haruta commented, still grumpy. As was Thatch, even though the conversation had been hours ago.

"Haruta, why are you so upset about this?" Marco wondered. It couldn't just be because Ace hadn't disclosed his birthday when they could have celebrated it on New Years, which was months ago. It was far too late.

"Because now I'm the youngest again!" Haruta ranted, surprisingly honestly. "Stupid Ace is stupid 36 and I'm 26!"

"Hey! No, don't say things like that. How do you think hearing that would make Ace feel?" Marco scolded. Haruta flushed and looked ashamed, but still upset. "It's not Ace's fault that he's lived longer than you. We just never thought about the fact that time might be different on Ace's planet."

The commander shuffled his feet in a grumpy way. "Fine," he grumbled and walked away. Marco pursed his lips, irate with the response that some of the crew were having about Ace's new age. There were plenty of younger members on the crew, under 36.

Marco went back to the bedroom, since Ace asked him to wake him up in an hour, and it had been that long. When he went into the room, Ace was curled up under the blankets like usual. He sat down on the bed next to Ace's head. "Ace, baby, time to wake up," he said. Ace put the pillow over his ear, and Marco chuckled. "Didn't you want to get up so you could work on your duties? There were a lot of damaged clothes in the fight. C'mon, up you go," Marco said, shaking Ace awake gently.

He sat up slowly, and sighed. "Are you okay?" Marco asked.

"Have a headache," Ace replied, rubbing his temples. "It's not too bad, but it's there."

"Do you want me to get you some tea?" Since Ace was not allowed any human medication, tea and herbal supplements were what was used. Ace nodded, and asked if Marco could bring his share of clothes to fix to their room. Ace already had his supplies in a little chest on top of the dresser.

"Sure. I'll make the tea and bring it back with your share of laundry," Marco replied. "Try not to make the headache worse."

"Okay."

Marco was concerned, but not panicked. Ace got occasional headaches, but they were usually due to haki. He brewed some tea and left to get the allotted amount of clothes, coming back once the tea was ready and pouring it in a tall mug. He headed back to their room, greeting those he passed, which became more and more sparse until there was no one else. The commanders' hall was strictly for those who had rooms there. It was the most private part of the ship when it came to general pirates and not the higher ups.

Ace was asleep again when Marco arrived, and closed the door with his foot. He dumped the clothes on the bed and set the mug on a fabric coaster Ace had crocheted on the bedside table on Ace's side. "Ace, I brought the tea and things you need," Marco said, and Ace got up much easier this time.

"Thanks," Ace said, taking a large swig of the tea. Since he couldn't be burned, he was able to drink and eat scalding hot food and not be even slightly uncomfortable. He turned on the dim lamp after setting the mug back down. "I'm fine, you don't have to worry. It faded a bit." Marco nodded.

"I'm gonna go get some paperwork and bring it back to work on in here," Marco said. Ace said he didn't need to, that he was fine. "You think that's the only reason I want to work in your company?" he asked with a smile.

"No, I guess not."

"I'll be back in a bit," Marco said and left the room to head to his office and bring back the things he could do with some distraction. He had to write up a report about what happened on the island. He'd been distracted since then, but the other commanders turned in their paper work already. It was the end of the week and Marco had one more thing to write up.

When he got back to the room, Ace was humming quietly, working on a ripped vest and leaning against the bedframe of the bed, legs under some blankets while he was sitting up. Marco didn't want him to stop and didn't ask, and was enthralled when Ace continued to do so, even with Marco in there.

Usually, Ace only kept singing to himself in the shower, and Marco never told him he could hear it, or if Marco is having an unusually hard time falling asleep. The best remedy is still the song about making paper baskets, which would never not be funny.

Marco sat at the desk in the corner of the room, reading glasses on while he wrote. Ace's tune was not distracting, even if it was fairly lively sounding. The only other sound that wasn't Marco's pen scribbling across the paper was the soft rustling of the fabric Ace was working with, and the times when he opened the chest to get out something else.

After Marco was done with his work, Ace had drunk all of the tea. "How's the headache? You haven't let loose any haki in a while." Ace looked up in shock and surprise. "What is it?"

The sayla poked the needle into the foam cork board wedge he had. "I didn't even notice that it wasn't happening. Usually it happens on its own…" Ace muttered. Marco smiled.

"Does that mean you can control it? Can you let loose any?" Marco asked excitedly, the excitement on Ace's face as well. Ace closed his eyes, and Marco waited patiently, wondering what would happen next.

A burst of it came out, Ace's face scrunched up a bit, and it made Marco wobble just a bit. Ace opened them and beamed. "I did it! I can do it!" he shouted, jumping up on the bed and acting like a child and jumping up and down in happiness. Marco rarely saw Ace like this, so playful and cute. It was weird now, to describe him that way knowing he was not just out of his teens, no matter how he looked.

"Congratulations. See, I told you you could do it," Marco said, sitting in the chair, laughing and smiling along with Ace. "Is the headache gone now?"

Ace shook his head. "It's barely there, but doesn't feel like my haki headaches," he replied, tired a bit from jumping. He slumped down on the bed, on his back with his limbs spread wide. "It took me months, but I sort of control one of them. And the other one isn't happening as often, but I still can't say when I want it to activate. It's happening less and less, too. That I notice, at least."

Marco stood up and walked to the bed, plopping down next to Ace on the large bed. "And how about regular observation haki?" he asked, taking the hand closest to Marco and kissing the knuckles. Ace said that it was still there all of the time, but he did his best to ignore it. "You don't really mention it much anymore. And you can sleep easier lately."

The sayla turned on his side to face Marco, and said, "I've gotten used to it. It's still there all of the time, but it doesn't scare me anymore. Only when there's something foreign off of the ship, or coming close to me. Maybe I can focus on other things, now that they're more under control?"

Marco ran a hand through Ace's hair. "Why are you asking me? You can do whatever you want," he pointed out.

"Cause I want you to help me," Ace answered.

"You don't have to ask. I'll be there for you with anything and everything," Marco replied. Ace crawled on top of Marco, resting his head over Marco's heart, while Marco's hands ran up and down Ace's smooth spine and his beautiful tattoo.


	21. At a Protected Island

**I now have two 145,000+ word stories to edit. And I'm also writing a new one. I'm stupid but I can't help the ideas! I'm halfway through editing one of the long ones and will post it once this story is over in two more weeks :( Light mentions of sexy times but only a conversation. Enjoy~**

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A week after the noble incident, with the Moby Dick nearing their next protected island, a new bounty poster came, slipping out of the newspaper and into Ace's blue hands. He adjusted his hat and looked at the poster, which had many new or updated wanted papers. There was a message a while ago about Kid's death, so he was no longer in any of the papers.

It was a new wanted poster for Ace, now him in his normal form _and _human colors. Ace sighed, a bit irate, but he was expecting it. He was blamed for a noble being harmed, of course it would raise. It looked different from other wanted posters since there were two separate images, one of each of his most used appearance. The bounty had raised to 160,000,000 of this world's currency.

He folded the posters back into the paper to bring to the captain at lunch. Ace had been practicing more control over his fire now that he could focus on something other than trying to get rid of headaches. He went inside, walking past everyone and to the captain. Marco wasn't in the room, and had finished his meal as well.

"Whitebeard, I have a new bounty. And they got each of my appearances," Ace said in a disappointed voice. He handed the paper to the captain, who pulled the pile of posters out. He frowned at it, as did those around him at the table.

"Well, bright side is that you can wear your hat out in public again," the captain said, trying to bring anything positive to the situation. "Just keep practicing with your non-fatal attacks so that no one needs to worry, including you."

"Yeah, I will. Are we arriving at the island soon?" The captain nodded, and Ace excused himself to go back outside and practice. He went to the back deck, furthest from the sails, and tried to shoot flames off the back of the ship. He wouldn't use it against someone, but had come to the conclusion that burning things could help him get away or deter any enemies. Looking at the poster, it said nothing of his abilities.

No one knew what he could do, just that he was a blue human. The aim was improving, but he wasn't able to shoot it much of a distance. He created balls of fire and tried throwing them with all his might, but they didn't go far, weakening in the air and becoming nothing. So that's why he was trying to make bursts of it to reach further.

Using the power in huge bursts, at least huge compared to what he'd been doing previously, it made him tired. So, he went to the library to relax. When he next woke up, it was due to movement all in one way, out onto the deck. He extended his hearing and heard the sound of land. Land sounded like bugs, birds, the rustling of plants that you wouldn't hear on the sea. He wiped his mouth in case any drool had come out (which was embarrassingly often), and put his hat on to leave and see the new island.

Since it was a protected island, they didn't need to worry about marines or other pirates. That would be nice, and there were no bounty hunters, and no one would be afraid of him by the wanted poster. He was a Whitebeard pirate, and this was their island.

"Thatch, what's this island's weather?" Ace wondered when he ran into him in the hall. Ace had been fascinated by the fact that islands had their own separate climate systems, not shared by the entire world, or at least large chunks of it.

"It's a winter island. You'll be perfectly fine, but everyone else will have to wear thick clothing," Thatch replied. "They have the best snow cones, since snow is always there, and I can never make it taste right! I've tried countless times, but it's never right," he complained.

Ace patted his back. "It's okay. Everyone has things they can't do," Ace said.

"Oi, don't you turn 36 on me. You're staying 20," Thatch replied almost snappishly. Ace looked confused.

"What does that mean?" Ace wondered.

"You're the littlest one, you have to stay the youngest," Thatch said, like he was talking to a child.

Ace was a bit confused. He was 20 in his years. So he was 20, not 36. He'd noticed multiple people hung up on that, but Marco told him they just didn't see him as being 36. "I'm still 20, even if it's not in your years. I'm not 36," Ace replied.

"Good! Then we're in agreement, you are 20," Thatch said with a satisfactory look on his face. Marco walked up behind them.

"And you are definitely not 43. You act 12," Marco said in an amused voice. Thatch fumed and tried to hit him, but Marco skirted away, even if any blow wouldn't harm him, especially a harmless punch from his brother.

Ace chuckled happily as they went out on deck, and he saw the beautiful snow world. Pirates were bundled up in thick jackets, boots, and long pants. Some had gloves and scarves on. Ace looked up and saw Marco was wearing the beanie Ace had knit for him. It was a bit of a failure, but he wore it anyways.

Whitebeard walked out and looked at the snowy island. "Alright sons and Ace, go crazy," he said with a laugh, and the full grown men launched off the ship and into the snow to play like children, violent snowball fights, building inappropriate snowmen, and making forts.

Ace was a bit away from everyone else, taking Marco's gloves even though he wasn't cold. He was trying to build something and his heat kept melting it. So, he was left to his own devices, the commanders having a snowball fight that got more and more aggressive. Ace was making a sceere, the giant birdlike creature from his world that rivaled airplanes. It was, of course, not realistic size wise, there wasn't enough room and probably not enough snow.

He had a lot of fun building the thing, even if it didn't turn out very lifelike. He had to make the wings furled since he had no way of suspending them outwards. Ace stopped building when he sensed a handful of people approaching. He was at the edge of the clearing, so he noticed them first. A bunch of human children, all bundled up tightly, breath puffing out in the air.

"Hey, want to help me out?" Ace asked. He must have looked out of place, shirtless and in shorts on a winter island. They looked wary, but Ace turned around and pointed to his back. "Don't worry, I'm with them."

A few of the kids ran out and to Ace, looking at the huge snow sculpture he was working on. "I'm making a giant bird. Want to help me make it even cooler?" Ace was in human colors so not to scare the kids or make any of the adults worried to be near him.

"Yeah!" a little boy said, and soon Ace and four children were working on it. Ace knew that it wasn't going to turn out looking realistic with kids who were clumsy and didn't know what it was supposed to be. Ace hadn't been around kids since he landed on earth. He used to like them, too. There had been toddlers in his unit, so he was used to being with kids of all ages.

Whitebeard seemed to be the only one who noticed Ace and the kids, since everyone else was so distracted. Ace heard his laughing in the distance.

"I'm making a baby one!" one of the little girls said happily. Another one of the kids, a little boy went to help her.

"My name's Ace. What are yours? I have to know who my fellow artists are, after all. They need credit for helping with my snow bird," Ace said with a friendly smile.

The four introduced themselves as: Mocha, Sind, Doran, and Konbu. "It's nice to meet you. Jeez, these pirates sure are noisy," Ace commented.

Mocha asked if Ace was new, since she didn't recognize him. "Yeah, I joined last year. Thatch found me after falling from the sky!" Ace knew they were young enough to believe he was telling tall tales. He'd have some fun, he liked children, enjoyed their smiles.

"Wow! Really?" Doran asked.

"That's right. The sky is suuuper high, too. It was scary," Ace replied. "The rest is a top-secret that only pirates can know." The kids moaned, and Ace laughed. "How about I repay you by showing you something really cool?" the sayla asked, in a hush, like it was a secret. He wasn't going to scare them with fire, so when they asked, he showed his hand and changed it into different colors.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Ace asked. Mocha grabbed onto his hand and inspected it. He had taken the glove off to show.

"Wow, that's amazing! Are you magic, Ace?" Sind asked in awe.

"That's right. But you can't tell anyone. My secret has to be kept," Ace replied. He had a feeling they'd blab, but he could say it was part of his devil fruit. That changing his temperature rapidly made him change colors. That was false, but he felt no one would be nosy due to the fact he was a Whitebeard.

"We'll keep it, we promise!" Sind said. Ace played with them in the snow some more before getting into a much more civil snowball fight. Ace purposely did not dodge and use his haki, getting hit in the face on purpose sometimes and falling down into the deep snow.

He hadn't noticed most of the pirates behind him were watching until Thatch and Haruta came running up to join. "Thatch!" Mocha shouted excitedly. "Are you going to make us yummy food again?" she asked excitedly.

Ace took a break to catch his breath, sitting in the melting snow, glad for a distraction so he could recover from running around in the deep snow for a few minutes. Marco came up behind him, footsteps loud in the deep snow, and sat down, not caring about soaking his pants. The cold didn't bother him either, he just wore the winter clothes to look the part.

"Didn't know you liked kids so much," he commented. Ace smiled.

"They're refreshing, even human ones," the sayla replied.

Marco nodded in agreement. "You're very cute with them. You looked so excited." Ace chuckled, and wondered if Marco saw Ace as 36 now, too. Was it weird to call a 36 year old cute?

"Marco, do you see me as 36 now? Even though to me, I'm still 20?" Ace asked while watching Thatch and Haruta play with the kids while others relaxed or started building their own things, the inappropriate sculptures destroyed once the kids were noticed by most.

The phoenix zoan shook his head. "No, you're still 20. Even though it makes sense why you seem so much more wise than a 20 year old human, you are who you are, and that goes with your age as well. Though it may be hard to keep track of with our years being different than your old one," Marco explained.

Ace smiled, wanting to kiss Marco but not in front of anyone else, especially the kids. He didn't know human etiquette, but back at his home planet, affection was in private, especially around children. He was so happy Marco put up with his aversion to PDA. it was ingrained in him to not do so.

"Marco, I'ma fall…" Ace warned, seeing his sleep attack with his future haki, for once useful. Marco picked up the unconscious, blue Ace and walked away from the kids quickly, hiding Ace's body with his own torso, carrying him back to the captain's chair. He laid Ace down against the side of it, sunk into the snow that melted under him until he was in a little hole, touching the grass beneath, which was rarely ever seen.

"That was quite endearing," Whitebeard said. Marco cracked a smile and nodded. "Ace is a good kid, I have no doubt. Not that I ever had before. I'm sure he'll be a new favorite at our protected islands."

"I agree. When are we heading into town?"

"Soon, once everyone has had their fun in the snow. Then we can check up how everything has been since we last came here," the captain replied. Ace woke up, his sleep period pretty short. He stood up in his hole and climbed out.

He asked if the kids had seen him turn, and Whitebeard said they didn't, too distracted with the other pirates. There were thousands of holes in the snow from pirates running around and walking about. Ace looked around again, and the beautiful landscape of white snow was a bit less beautiful with all of the holes, trails and body shapes. Though he was making footprints and melting more snow than the others, so he couldn't complain.

Ace put his hat back on, since it had fallen on his back when he fell asleep. Marco took Ace's hand and he smiled, releasing heat from his body so the snow melted away, allowing them to avoid it and walk on the ground. Marco chuckled. "See, there are everyday uses for your fruit," the phoenix zoan pointed out.

The flames barely on Ace's legs, helping to keep the heat going, attracted Marco's flames, which came out on their own to mix into Ace's, turning them purple as the red and blue mixed. Neither paid much attention to it, it wasn't something out of the ordinary. They went back to the kids, who had pretty much ruined Ace's sculpture, though he wasn't too upset about it.

"Why don't we go into town so we can see how things are going with your island?" Marco asked Mocha, who nodded, throwing her final snowball at her blonde friend. The pirates migrated into the town, which wasn't too far past where the Moby Dick was docked. Ace thought the village was very cute, with snow covered houses and shops with tall roofs. It was a dinky, but cozy, feeling.

Marco and Whitebeard headed straight to the mayor's house to ask how things had been since their last visit. Ace felt more presences coming up behind them and turned to see a bunch of kids running to him. "Ace, Ace! Come meet my friends!" Dolan said excitedly. Ace grinned and said sure, telling Marco he'd see him later.

Ace was swarmed by children, and followed them to their playground, though the bars were cold and they had to have gloves to play on it. Ace was introduced to younger children, while the older ones didn't pay much attention to him. "Ace, show Sora the magic?"

"Which kind? I have many kinds of magic," Ace said with a grin.

"Wow, really? More than the changing colors?" Mocha asked, holding a toddler bundled up in a very thick jacket and little boots. He had a puffy hat on. Ace nodded in response. "Want me to show you guys everything? But you can't tell the grown ups. It's a secret between us." If the grown ups found out, it wouldn't be much of a big deal. Ace wouldn't do anything dangerous.

"Alright, pick a color, any color."

"Blue!" Ace changed his whole body to his normal blue, keeping his eyes the same grey he used for looking human. He then changed his body into constant colors, filtering through them like a rapid rainbow. The kids were cheering, and Ace did a theatrical bow.

"What else is there?" a four year old said. At least, he looked like a four year old to Ace. Though, with the different years, technically the kids at Ace's planet were older than these ones. Ace held up a finger, and showed a tiny flame. Nothing big or scary. "Is that fire?"

"It is. But I have good control of it, so there's no need to worry. Would you like me to melt the snow off your playground? It looks pretty cold," he offered. The kids cheered. Ace walked under the structure and heated himself up to melt the snow off the metal, but did not make it too hot. A nice warm feeling that he knew would not hurt anyone. They took their gloves off and played enthusiastically as Ace got to work melting all of the snow across the entire play ground until they were running around happily.

Sid walked to him with his little sister, since they looked similar. "What other magic do you have, Ace?" he asked excitedly. A few others heard this and ran over to listen while the more distracted ones continued to play on the jungle gym. More kids had congregated, and only a few parents were around. Ace had heard one of the original kids introduce Ace. And the tattoo on his back was pretty self-explanatory.

"Okay, we all have to be very quiet now. No loud noises. I'm gonna make it so we can hear everything around us," Ace said in a hush, and then made the sound raise so the sounds of birds and snow softly hitting the ground. The birds sounded so near, and he then lowered the volume. "Now shout as loud as you want," Ace said, and lowered the volume.

The kids shouted at the top of their lungs, though the only sounds was faded, like it was blocked by a thick wall. They laughed, and Ace rose the volume back to normal. "I can control sound, too," Ace explained, getting "Wow"s and "so cool!"s. Ace grinned.

"Ace, how old are you?" Mocha asked curiously.

"I'm 20." Because he was. He was not 36, no matter what some of his crew now thought. It was a bit annoying, but he didn't complain about it as long as it had no real consequences or people treated him differently. "I'm currently the youngest on the Whitebeard crew. Speaking of them, why don't we go and find some more people to play with?"

The herd of children agreed, and Ace was swarmed with them as he walked. None of them noticed his rapid breathing. A young boy was piggy backing while the sayla's hands were held by different children. They chattered all at once, but Ace was able to separate the words so he could hear them better.

"No, I'm not a commander. I'm actually part of the division that fixes up clothes. Pirates are not very gentle with their clothes, so we have to fix them up since you don't have regular clothing stores out on the sea," Ace explained.

"But you're so strong, why not a commander?" Sid asked. He was one of the older children, along with Mocha, so they knew more about the pirates and their workings.

"I'm not real commander material, and I'm happy in my position. I don't think I'd be a good commander. Pirates have to fight often. I don't like fighting much. I'm strong, but I don't use it against other people, even if I don't like them," Ace replied honestly. Someone asked him why not. "I was raised as a pacifist. Meaning I don't believe in needless violence or war. I know it's strange to hear a pirate like that, isn't it?" he asked with a smile.

"You're so nice, Ace!" Kari said, one of the youngest that wasn't a toddler. Ace thanked her with a bright grin. He brought the parade of children to where they lead him to the building the mayor met with the leaders of the Whitebeards when they arrived. Ace knew he wasn't allowed in, not being a commander and all, and so played outside with the kids.

Ace sat on a bench, warming it so the ice and snow dripped away and chatted with the kids. "Hey, Ace? Is your family cool like you, too?" Appi asked, one of the little girls that had taken to climbing on Ace's shoulders. It was like a swarm of cetrels, a pet back at home similar in size and shape as a cat, only with scales and not fur.

"My family was very cool," Ace replied. "I don't see them anymore, but they were very cool."

Mocha asked, "Why don't you see them? Is it cause you're a pirate? Mommy said pirates can't have families outside their crews."

Ace was honest, knowing the children wouldn't be mean about his answer. "Well, they passed away many years ago. That's why I don't see them anymore. But they'll always be a part of my heart." He almost said "heart_s"_, but he only had one anyways, now. The kids' faces turned sad and sympathetic.

"D... do you miss them?" Dolan asked hesitantly. Ace nodded, and said he missed them every day. Before anyone said anything else, some of the commanders left the building, chatting and putting their gloves back on. Ace really did stand out with being shirtless while everyone else was bundled up tightly to keep warm.

"Looks like Ace has a little group of followers," Izo chuckled.

"Izo! Izo, Ace is so cool! He showed us magic," Toby, one of the boys, gushed. Ace did his best not to blush blue, or that might seem strange. "He can change colors and melt stuff and make us hear things!"

Izo was surprised Ace had showed them so much. "Guys, it was a secret remember? You can't tell anyone else about my magic," Ace said, voice a bit stern. Toby put his hands over his mouth as some of the other kids glared at him. "Izo, Marco and Thatch are fine, but no other adults. Okay?"

"We promise!" Ace gave them a bright smile, and chatted about random things, Ace asking them about their lives in the village. Ace was like a magnet to kids, for those who were out by had not been with the original group flocked to him to see why everyone was crowded.

Ace wondered why their parents weren't watching them.

-x-

Marco sat with four other commanders and Whitebeard as they were updated on what had happened since their last visit. Marco was taking notes, being the best at multitasking and listening at the same time. No pirates had attacked the island since the last visit, and they'd only had two times a marine vessel had stopped and restocked. They had not caused any trouble, and were not _un_welcome unless they caused any problems.

The crops had been growing well, so they sustained just fine with trading themselves. Marco had always been fascinated when little places like this could function with no real trading coming from any other islands. They mostly kept to themselves, but the Whitebeard's protected them because Pops was friends with the previous mayor long ago. He repaid the old friendship by taking care of his old city.

Marco wondered what Ace was doing, if he was still playing with the children. He was able to think about that, while also recording what was being said, reading glasses on. He hadn't known Ace was good with or even liked children, but that was proven today. He knew Ace would become a favorite, just by how kind he was.

A few of the commanders filtered out of the room when the talk became less formal and more catching up. "Marco, you are dismissed," Pops said after everyone had left and only Marco was there. He nodded, and folded up the papers, putting them in a folder and pushing it on the surface of the table to Pops. "Thank you, son."

"Sure," Marco said, stretching and then leaving the room, last hearing Pops start to talk about Ace. Of course not in truthful detail, but he sounded almost bragging, and Marco beamed as he left the room.

When he left the building, it was snowing lightly, and he found the commanders playing with the kids. Almost all of them, with Ace standing to the side, watching with a smile. The kids were tossed from commander to commander in a wide circle. Marco wondered how this came about, and walked to Ace.

He took his hand, not wanting to show romance in front of the kids, not knowing what they would think, and Ace would be extremely averse to PDA in front of the children he'd been playing with. "The kids think I'm magic, and my powers are a secret," Ace said with a laugh.

"You showed them your abilities?" Marco asked in slight surprise. Ace shrugged, as if saying "why not?" Marco could understand that. Kids weren't likely to think too hard into it, realizing that there was more than one devil fruit. And if the kids did tell their parents, they would probably think they were exaggerating about him being magic.

"Want to get out of here?" Marco asked Ace quietly. He had been released and was able to go around like the other commanders. Ace nodded, and Marco passed Thatch and told him they were going to explore.

"Ooh, can I come?" Thatch asked excitedly. Marco gave him a pointed look, that they were going on a date not just a walk around the town. "Ohhh, okay. Have fun, Acey-chan!" Marco hadn't heard Thatch say that in a while, and rarely directly to Ace, who looked confused at the nickname.

Marco explained that saying "chan" after a name was a term of endearment, and Thatch was just being weird about the "Acey" part. "He adores you, so he made that nickname at the beginning, though I haven't heard him say that in a while."

"Oh, okay. So, where are we going?" Ace asked, his hand in Marco's, the only real PDA he was okay with.

"I know a really nice place, pretty private in the coldest time of the year. Since neither of us is affected by the cold, we can go there when no one else is," Marco said, leading Ace out of town and to the forest, which were unlike the trees Ace had seen so far. They were pine trees, nothing Ace had seen so far, so Marco explained what they were and their difference.

The snow and pine needles crunched under them, and soon they found a clearing with a frozen lake and waterfall next to a snow covered beach with pebbles underneath the white blanket. "Wow, this is beautiful," Ace said in awe. Marco looked at him and couldn't help but think _he _was beautiful.

Marco smiled, and asked him to turn normal, which Ace did happily, back in the blue Marco loved. The snow melted under and around him, making a straight path to where Marco was leading him. Both of them flopped down on the snow, Ace purposely trying to make himself a normal temperature.

"Do you know what snow angels are?" Marco wondered. Ace shook his head, probably never knowing what an angel was. It was a human sentiment. "You spread your arms and legs out back and forth to make an impression on the snow, like this." And soon both of them were making snow angels, Ace laughing while they acted like children.

"I like the snow," Ace said, taking a break from the snow angel making. It was strenuous, though he had been able to do it for a while. Marco had stopped, too.

"I do, too. It's nice coming to peaceful winter islands with no marine bases. Nothing to worry about while just having fun. You were very cute with all of the kids," Marco commented. Ace laughed.

He smiled and replied, "They were really cute. I haven't been around kids since coming here. I had fun with them, melted the snow so they could play on their playground. It was nice." Marco grinned, loving Ace's kindness to anyone and everyone. He was such a pure soul and Marco was so happy his time on the Moby Dick hadn't changed that. It gave him hope that Ace would stay who he was despite being a pirate.

"You'll be a new favorite. Thatch and Haruta are the usual favorites. And Raykuo cause they're fascinated with his weapon," Marco said, turning back onto his back, small flurries of snow landing on both of them. "I love you so much, Ace. I'm so glad you landed near our ship and Thatch brought you aboard," Marco muttered. Of course, Ace heard it, and blushed dark blue.

His hand reached to Marco's, and he said, "I love you, too. I'm glad I landed there, as well. I can't image having been found by a bad person. I was so clueless and had no idea where I was or what planet and what kind of life was on it. I'm glad I found kind people, even if we had a rocky start." Marco nodded in agreement, and they laid in the snow, content to be quiet and just enjoy each others' company.

After a while, the snow covered both of them, burying them like they were in sand. It bothered neither of them, but soaked their clothes. Marco noticed a white fox digging into the snow, before it pulled out some sort of rodent and ran off with it's food. Ace was watching as well, looking happy seeing something new. It was so hard to think of Ace as some other species, even if he was blue.

"Ace? Do you still want to go back to your home planet?" Marco wondered, almost afraid of the answer and worrying if he'd hear something that made him feel terrible.

"Only if I could bring you with me," Ace replied casually. Marco grinned, and his body went warm inside, feeling so loved, and rolled over on top of Ace, and they both sunk into the snow a little deeper. Marco kissed him passionately, wanting to just how much he loved Ace. Again, the privacy made Ace a lot more willing to be a bit handsy.

He threaded his hands into Marco's hair as Marco kissed him and then went to his jaw and under his ear. Ace shuddered and Marco wondered if it tickled, but the salya didn't stop him. Marco kissed down to his chest, pecking the many white freckles with soft kisses, his hands spreading across Ace's strong chest and torso. Ace still didn't stop him.

Marco kissed across Ace's nipples, which were firm from the cold, showing his body still reacted to the cold even if it didn't harm him. Ace was breathing quicker than he usually did, and Marco worried he'd hyperventilate. So, he stopped, and brought his lips back up to Ace's mouth, tongue slowly pushing into his mouth and feeling his teeth and soft mouth from the inside.

The phoenix flames were coming out and dancing against Ace's body. His own reacted and soon the snow all around them was melted and Ace was on his back on the ground. Ace pushed Marco's head back a bit, and took deep breaths. He was having trouble breathing.

"Are you okay?" Marco asked in concern as Ace tried to bring his breaths back to normal. He nodded, breathing deep breaths.

"I'm okay. I just need a little break," the sayla said.

"That's fine. I'm sorry I made it hard for you to breathe," Marco said sadly. It was abundantly clear now that Ace's body could not handle anything more intimate than that. Marco would probably never get very far with him. He wasn't angry at Ace, it wasn't his fault. He might cause Ace to get injured or sick if he even tried anything more intimate than the strong make out session.

"I'm sorry," Ace said, maybe seeing the sadness on Marco's face. "I can barely handle kissing." He sounded ashamed and embarrassed. Marco put his forehead to Ace's.

He said, sincerely, "It is not your fault. And I am not upset about it one bit. I want you to be healthy, and hyperventilating is not that." He put his fingers on Ace's neck, feeling his racing heart. "Are you okay now?"

"Just a little bit longer," Ace replied, and Marco nodded. Ace's breathing calmed and he looked embarrassed still. Marco sat up more, sitting with his knees on either side of Ace. "Marco, I don't think I could ever go further than this."

Marco was surprised Ace was the one to bring up this topic. He had not said a single thing in the seven months about sex, which was what he was clearly meaning. "I don't know how it works with humans, or if we'd be compatible, but I think it would be unsafe for my body if it was strenuous."

Both of their faces were flushed at the conversation. Marco leaned down and put his head against Ace's. "I already knew that was what would happen. I've never expected to have sex with you. You don't seem to want it and we might be unable to. Which might be uncomfortable for both of us."

Ace nodded, but then said, "I've never been opposed to someday trying, I even snuck into the infirmary to see what human anatomy was. One of the nurses caught me and thought it was funny. But now, I know that I just… I can't do it even if I really wanted to," the sayla said honestly. Marco was thankful he was being so open about the topic.

"It's okay, I'm not mad," Marco said, knowing if he said he wasn't disappointed Ace might take it the wrong way. That he hadn't looked forward to maybe doing it someday. Ace nodded, but Marco knew he was still embarrassed and there was nothing to get rid of but some time.

Eventually, they decided they were hungry, and headed back to the town. The snow had covered over their footprints, so they followed Ace's hearing, where he heard voices and the sounds of movement that weren't animals.

"Marco, why is no one stocking anything or doing our jobs?" Ace asked when he saw pirates everywhere just goofing off.

"We always stay longer at protected islands, and there's not much to stock up on here since it's so small. That's why we went overboard at the last island, to make up for not getting much here," Marco explained. Ace's clothes were dry, since he let out heat on his body to make the water evaporate. Marco was still soaking.

It was dinner time by now, though the sky wasn't dark yet. The feast was not outside, since it was freezing outside. The pirates ate in the largest building there was on the island, eating with the citizens.

The children flocked to Ace, and there was barely any room for any of the other pirates besides Marco and Thatch. Thatch was a fan favorite from the kids as well. Marco was there because he sat down before any of the kids had come.

The party lasted late into the night, and everyone was tired and ready to sleep in their nice, warm beds back in the ship. Ace had to be helped to the ship by Thatch because he was unusually tired. Marco came later, having to stay up later with working with Pops to organize things for their stay.


	22. Sick Days

**Lots of fluffy comfort in this chapter. I finished editing my first crossover! I have two other ones and I am having a blast with them. I'll start posting the finally edited one after this fic is over, with only one chapter left :( I don't how big the crossover community is for the ones I wrote but I hope people enjoy them. You'll know once I post it ;) Enjoy~**

The next morning, Ace woke up feeling like crap. He had a small headache, his nose was plugged and somehow runny at the same time, and he kept coughing. He was also freezing, which confused him. He was made of fire, he couldn't get cold. He was also a bit sweaty, though he was cold.

Marco wasn't there, so Ace must have slept in. He just wanted to go back to sleep, and pulled the blanket up over his head. It was hard to sleep with the coughing and itchy feeling in his throat. He assumed he'd caught an illness, and was worried. He hadn't been sick with a human virus since arriving there.

He had to go to the infirmary just to be sure it was nothing too alarming. He didn't think he was going to die, but better safe than sorry. He wrapped the blanket around himself and walked to the infirmary in his pyjamas. It seemed everyone was at breakfast, since he didn't run into anyone on his way to the infirmary.

When he entered, he looked for any of the nurses, and called out despite the shivers. "Ace? What are you here for?" Tami asked, coming out of the office. She noticed Ace looked ill immediately, Ace was sure.

"I don't feel good," Ace said, kind of unnecessarily. He didn't exactly look like he was having the time of his life.

"Alright, let me take your temperature," she said, and got out a thermometer, putting a plastic wrap over it for sanitary reasons. "Put this under your tongue," she said, and Ace did so. "99.2 degrees. Not too bad, but a temperature nonetheless." The nurses knew his normal temperature was in the medium 90s like most humans. And his fire logia didn't heat up the inside of his body, just his skin. They'd tested on that long ago.

"Is there something wrong with me?" he asked nervously.

Tami shook her head. "I doubt it. You have the symptoms of a common cold. But it is strange the incubation was so fast. Though, your blood pumps a lot faster it could have circulated quicker. I assume it was from one of the children you were close to. They might have been sick and not known it."

Ace asked, "What do I do? I can't take human pills." Tami shook her head.

"You need lots of bedrest, a lot of water, and healthy foods that are easy for you to digest. Mainly, soup. Thatch will be happy to help you. You should take a hot shower, and blow your nose often. Don't let yourself get more congested than normal," Tami said, and then left to get a box of tissues. "Wash your hands before leaving your room, we don't want it to spread. Marco won't need to worry about being around you since he's immune to all illnesses." Ace nodded, and Tami helped him back to the room. "I'll go tell Thatch to make you some soup. Yes, soup for breakfast. No french toast," Tami said when Ace looked like he was going to complain.

Ace had the lights turned off, and put the tissue box on the nightstand with the bathroom trash can next to the bed, and curled under the blankets in a ball, trying to keep warm and fall back asleep.

The next time he woke up was when Marco entered the room and woke him up, carrying a tray with a bowl of hot soup and some crackers on the side. "Hey, baby, how are you feeling?" Marco asked, setting the tray on the side of the bed Ace wasn't on.

"Like crap," Ace said in a scratchy, nasally voice before coughing into his elbow. "My nose is runny and clogged at the same time. How does that happen?"

"I don't know, I don't get it. I'm sure Whiskey or Tami would tell you," he said. Ace scooched up so he could lean against the headboard of the bed, and Marco put the tray over his lap. "Eat it slowly. And drink a lot of water." There was a big water bottle next to the tissue box on the bed. Ace nodded.

The warm soup felt nice down his throat, and tasted good. He'd had it before, chicken noodle soup with certain spices that mixed nicely together. Marco stayed with him for a while before he had to leave and help organize the trip off the ship, since people were going hunting in the forest for food. Though there was a limit, since the village lived off of some of the food in the forest. They couldn't do too much.

Ace nodded, and Marco took the tray away, empty of any food, while Ace brought the blankets back up to his stuffy nose and fell back asleep. The only person that seemed to be allowed in with Ace was Marco.

He didn't once leave the bedroom, very glad it had a little bathroom he could go to easily. He did take a shower, steaming up the bathroom. For anyone else, it would have burnt their skin badly. He stayed in his pyjamas still, but took one of Marco's robes from his closet and bundled up inside of it, under the blankets.

He fell asleep again in the warmth. The little trash by the bed was empty, since he burned the tissues once they were used. Less germs getting in the trash can. Marco came and checked on him often, but he was still asleep, so he didn't know. He day passed quickly but slowly at the same time. He slept most of it, but when he was awake, it felt like time just dragged on and on. He wanted to go outside, but wouldn't risk anyone else getting sick.

He hadn't touched the walls on his way to the infirmary, having been wrapped in a blanket and unable to. So there weren't any sick germs anywhere other than in his room. He wished he could do something useful, but he'd just get germs on the things he would be fixing for his duties.

It was lonely and too quiet. He woke up the last time with Marco crawling into bed next to him. "Hey, Ace. Are you feeling any better than last time?" Marco asked, wiping some of the sweat off of Ace's forehead. Ace shook his head. "Want me to make some tea?" He shook his head again, and instead moved to be closer, Marco wrapping his arms around Ace, his pyjamas, and the fluffy robe that he never seemed to wear. Ace didn't know why, it was so comfortable.

Ace fell asleep easily, breathing through his mouth instead of his stuffy nose. He didn't wake up until Marco did, later than usual for him. They were still at the island, and would be for many more days, most of which Ace would probably still be sick. He opened his eyes when Marco was getting up, gently unwrapping Ace's limbs from him.

"Eh?" Ace asked, groggy and still close to falling back to sleep. "Hey, Ace. I'm going to go get us some breakfast, okay? And some tea for you," Marco explained. Ace sniffled and then nodded. He still felt terrible, and was sick of being sick. He was glad, though, that nothing else seemed to be coming from it. Back on his home planet, if an animal virus or sickness spread to a human, it couldn't be spread back to the animals.

Was Ace basically the human in this situation with the humans passing on the virus to him like the animals did at home? Home planet, the Moby Dick was his home now. He rolled over onto his other side, and wiped his nose with the tissue before incinerating it easily. He adjusted his pillow, and closed his eyes slowly, only to be woken up a few minutes later with some food.

He sat up, sniffling loudly, and blinked slowly when the food was set in front of him. Marco also had a thermometer. "Here, baby, take your temperature before you eat," he said, and handed the thermometer to him, where he put it under his tongue. One at his home planet would have been electronic, sliding across the forehead. This one was another medical instrument stuck in the distant past back on his home world.

When Marco took the thing to read, his brows furrowed, and he looked concerned. "What? What is it?" Ace asked.

"Your temperature has risen since yesterday. Have you developed any more symptoms since yesterday?" Ace shook his head.

"Lots of goop in my throat, and still have the cough, chills and really sweaty," Ace listed. Marco asked if it was harder to breathe. "I don't know. A little faster than normal for me, but not that bad," Ace replied, and then took a drink of the hot soup, then some tea. They tasted delicious in his dry mouth. He hadn't drunk water since waking up.

Marco sat on the end of the bed, and Ace put his spoon down to cough into his arm harshly. He ate the rest of the food at a rapid pace, drinking the tea happily. At least, as happy as he could while being sick. He wanted to get back to normal.

"I'm gonna ask one of the nurses to come check on you," Marco said when he took the empty tray and brought it back to the kitchen. Ace laid back down, feeling so tired it was hard to lift even his limbs or head. He put both hands under his cheek, slowing his eyes and drifting off. He was so tired.

He was woken again when Whiskey came into the room, crouching next to Ace's head and waking him up. "Ace, Ace wake up," she said. He cracked an eye open and sighed, knowing he had to sit up again. Whiskey helped him up, supporting him until he was leaning against the headboard. "How are you feeling?" she asked. Ace was tired of being asked that. It was the same, crappy.

"Not good. Not much better than yesterday," he said, punctuated by coughs. Whiskey gently scolded him from sniffling instead of blowing his nose. So he did, though not much came out. He was asked if he was having trouble breathing. Ace hadn't noticed any real difference than his usual fast pace. So he shook his head.

"Your fever has gone up four degrees since yesterday. 103.1. That's usually a temperature where people need to be hospitalized. I would like to bring you to the infirmary for observation. You may be reacting to the virus more severely than a normal human. Then there's the underlying fragility of your heart."

Ace groaned, hating the infirmary. He'd been there too many times. "How about he stays in here and I'll stay and watch," Marco offered, taking pity on his partner, but Whiskey wasn't having it.

"No, he's coming whether he likes it or not. If he ends up needing a ventilator, then he has to be there as soon as possible. Moments can make all the difference. And the commanders' hall is not close to the infirmary." Ace really didn't want to go, it was a bright and cold feeling, the atmosphere of the room made him uncomfortable.

Marco sighed and helped Ace up, who had trouble standing up, holding his own weight. "Carry him, Marco. His body is too fatigued to walk on his own," Whiskey said, and walked after Ace, not taking any of the contaminated things in the room, including the water pitcher, the trashcan and any of the blankets that would need to be washed.

Ace was laid down on the hospital bed, having fallen back asleep on the way there, even though it was a short walk. Whiskey brought out some thick blankets, but not too thick, to put over him, still in the bathrobe. He was so out, barely reacting to Whiskey opening up the robe slightly and putting the stethoscope on his second heart. She frowned.

"His heartbeat is quicker than it usually is now," Whiskey said. Ace woke up at the words, turning his head to the side and looking at the physician and first mate.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Ace asked between coughs. Marco gave him a new box of tissues, and brought over a big bottle of water with a cap that he didn't need to uncap, he could just bite down and suck the water out. It was easier to use.

"Your symptoms are more severe than a regular cold, and I would give you medication if I felt comfortable. I'm just not taking any chances. Using human drugs on animals results in them dying, so I don't know how it'd react to you, who are not human." Ace's eyes closed slowly, and he was slipping back into sleep. "I will wake you up if you show anymore symptoms."

"Kay…" Ace said and then closed his eyes fully, drifting back to sleep. Whiskey covered his shivering form with the second blanket, and adjusted the pillow slightly so his head was in the middle and not the side. He didn't wake up for the rest of the day unless it was for meals.

He did need to be helped twice to use the bathroom, and almost fell asleep on the toilet. Sometime during the afternoon before dinner, he was given an IV drip of water since he was sleeping and unable to keep himself hydrated by drinking water often.

No one but Marco was allowed near Ace, so there weren't any visitors to see how he was. It was nice, he didn't need to wake up. At some point in his sleep, his breathing picked up, and he wheezed a bit.

It went unnoticed for several minutes before Tami came out, and ran over, trying to wake him up. Ace sluggishly opened his eyes. "Ace? Ace, can you hear me?" Tami asked loudly, so Ace's ears, which felt plugged, could hear her. He nodded. "Are you having trouble breathing?" Ace blinked, not noticing he was breathing abnormally. He clearly looked confused, and incoherent. But his wheezing told her that something was wrong.

His head was becoming a little fuzzy, and he passed out again. Tami swore, and ran into the storage room, calling for Whiskey for help. She brought out the ventilator and got it set up. "Ace? Ace wake up," Whiskey said, and shook him. He wasn't waking up, and they had no way to safely sedate him. So, they used his comatose state to put the ventilator in.

After Ace's attack from Teach, they'd done a thorough examination of organ systems. It functioned the same as humans except for the two hearts. The ventilator entered his lung, processing oxygen in, set faster than usual for Ace's normal breathing patterns. Stickers were put on him to monitor his heartbeat.

He didn't wake up the rest of the day, so he was set up with nutrients coming from an IV in his other elbow.

-x-

Marco was furious when he learned that Ace was in bad condition two hours after Ace was put on the ventilator. When he entered the room, he felt like yelling at the nurses, but they were monitoring Ace, and probably knew he'd get in the way or distract them at the most crucial moments.

Seeing Ace hooked up to machines and IV drips was a scary sight. His face was still flushed blue and sweaty. Tami was sitting on the chair, wearing a face mask, watching him. Marco walked over to the nurse and his lover's current bed.

"How is he? What's wrong with him?" Marco asked quietly, face blank except for the pursed lips. Tami looked up from Ace, and replied, "We think he has some type of pneumonia. He's been stable for a couple hours. His temperature has not risen, either. We think he's stable. The ventilator is helping a lot, though it will be bad when he wakes up. If someone wakes up with something down their throat, it causes them to panic and perhaps do more damage in their fretting to get it out," Tami explained.

Marco pulled a chair up and sat next to Ace. He put his hand on Ace's forehead, sweaty and clammy. His hair was stuck to his sweaty face. The sayla would need a shower soon. Ace stayed asleep for the rest of the day and night, Marco sleeping in the infirmary with him, head and arms on the bed.

He woke up to a choking sound, seeing Ace's eyes wide open with panic. "Ace! Calm down, it's to help you brea- Whiskey, Tami, someone come here!" he shouted when Ace wasn't processing his attempt at soothing. Whiskey ran in and worked to get the tube out of his throat fluidly, even as he was thrashing around. Even missing the uvula, keeping him from throwing up any food he had in his stomach from the day before.

It was 4 AM. Ace gasped for breath and held his throat, IVs being pulled until Whiskey rolled them closer to the bed so they weren't ripped out. "Ace? Ace are you alright?" the nurse asked loudly, voice a bit muffled behind her mask, leaning over him so her face was directly above his. Ace nodded, though he was breathing very fast, from the scare of having something stuck down his esophagus and into his lungs.

"How are you feeling? You've been unconscious since noon yesterday. We had to put you on a ventilator so you could breathe normally. Are you still having trouble breathing?" she asked.

Ace swallowed, and slowed his breathing with calming breaths. He wasn't wheezing, and he said, "I-I'm okay." His voice sounded dry, so Whiskey moved the bottle of water to his face, and he took it from her hands to drink several big gulps of water. "Still tired," he said.

"It's to be expected. We think that you have pneumonia. It's a lung infection. Your cold turned into that, which can happen if someone gets influenza. This is the third day of your sickness, and if you _do _have pneumonia, then you will be sick for at least or around two weeks," Whiskey explained. Ace's face fell.

"But what about my duties?" Ace asked.

Whiskey frowned at him. "Your health is more important than sewing up shirts that a hundred other people can do."

Ace looked ashamed. "I always get hurt or sick and can't do what I'm supposed to," he complained quietly. Marco ran put his hand on Ace's less sweaty face. He was looking better.

"It's no one's fault that you get sick or injured. Well, the first time it was Teach's fault. If this crew had a dozen members, you being sick and injured would be a problem. But there are over 1600 people on this ship. Losing your service will not make a difference. Besides, no one else wants to get sick. You may be contagious for a long time, so we need to keep you in isolation," Whiskey explained.

"I won't get to see Thatch? Or the kids again?" he asked, sounding devastated. Marco would tell Thatch later about how sad Ace was about not being able to see him. Whiskey shook her head.

"No, we don't know if what you have can spread to humans. You may be extremely contagious, we don't know," the head nurse explained. "You may have a type of coronavirus, while are pathogens that can spread from human to human by spreading the germs. When people cough, sneeze or even breathe, it sends out respiratory droplets that can contain the virus. If they enter another person's mouth, nose or eyes, they may possibly become sick, and the process repeats."

Ace frowned deeper, not wanting to hurt anyone else. "I'm sure Thatch could come visit if he wears a face mask and gloves," Marco offered. "He just won't touch you."

Whiskey disagreed with this. "If Thatch were not the head chef and an idiot, I would allow that. But since he _is _the head chef and idiot, I don't think it would be wise to have him see Ace. He might get better relatively quickly, or it could take longer.

The sayla looked very upset, and with good reason. He was going to be confined in the infirmary for possibly weeks. He didn't want that! And he wanted to see the kids again, even if one of them had made him sick. "Do I have to stay in here?"

The head nurse nodded. "After a few days, if you've been stable, then we can move you back to your and Marco's bedroom. Marco will be here to see you, he just has to wash his hands off before leaving after he touches you."

Marco gave him a smile. "I'd never leave you by yourself for weeks." Ace nodded, and his stomach growled. "Whiskey, can I go get him some food?"

"Yes, but I'll need to make a list for Thatch. Ace will be eating food rich in nutrients, no more simple soup. Meats, fish, fruits and green vegetables, whole grains, teas, honey and so on." Ace looked very happy that he didn't need to deal with soup anymore. It was yummy to everyone, but probably not fun to eat all day for each meal. Whiskey left to get a sheet of paper to write down what foods Ace would need to be served. Marco sat on the bed next to him.

"I'm sorry you're sick, baby," Marco said. Ace nodded.

"I bet I smell bad," Ace commented.

"You showered a few days ago," Marco pointed out.

"I didn't use soap or hair stuff."

"That stuff can wait until you can move on your own. I doubt the nurses care about someone who smells like BO," Marco replied, running his thumb up and down Ace's jaw. "You'll get better, you've been through worse. Did you ever get sick back on your home planet?" Ace nodded.

"Every year there was a sickness, but we had shots to prevent and tablets to get rid of it if someone did get sick. When planets first started to mingle, it spread different sicknesses between planets, but we had their help to cure or treat them. Multi-world cooperation was a must back then. Well, some viruses still appeared out of nowhere, but it usually wasn't like a pandemic," Ace explained. Marco, once again, was irate that earth was so far behind in development of Ace's planet.

"Sorry we're so behind," Marco said. Ace yawned, and said it wasn't his fault. As Ace's eyes started to close, his stomach reminded him that it wanted food. "Go ahead and sleep while Thatch makes your food," he said, and Ace drifted off. Marco kissed his fingers and pressed them to Ace's forehead.

He squirted some sanitizer on his hands to kill the germs and took the list from Whiskey, whose gloves were off. The phoenix zoan looked back once more before leaving the room. The phoenix inside was irate with him for leaving Ace, like it'd been every time he wasn't with Ace when he was sick. Which was quite often.

"Shut it, I'm getting food for him," he scolded, earning an angry lurtch from inside. But then it calmed down and didn't make itself known again. He went to the commanders' hall, and knocked on Thatch's door, since he probably wasn't awake yet. Thatch opened the door, shirtless and in pyjama pants, hair down since he hadn't done it up yet. "What?" he asked groggily.

"Ace woke up and is hungry. I can't cook the kind of food Whiskey said Ace needs," Marco explained. This woke Thatch up, and he hurried back inside his room to get dressed, putting a headband on to keep his hair out of his face. Marco had rarely seen him willingly leave his room in the morning without his pompadour. It took a while to do it up, like Izo's hair did as well.

Thatch and Marco hurried to the kitchen, where Thatch began to cook, reading the list of foods from Whiskey. For breakfast would be ginger oatmeal with honey mixed in to make it sweet. As he cooked, Marco explained the situation. "He was very upset when he was told he couldn't see you," Marco made sure to add.

The chef was upset with what he was hearing, knowing he'd hate being in isolation as well, especially since he was a social butterfly, like Ace sometimes was. But, he felt touched that Ace was upset _specifically _about not being able to see him. Thatch would miss him as well, but could understand Whiskey's decision. If anyone could spread germs the worst, it would be one of the cooks. _Especially _Thatch, since he handled most of the food, even if he wasn't the one cooking it. He made them look better before serving.

"Poor Ace," Thatch sighed, Marco nodding in agreement. "It sure is lucky that you can see him, though. Your power sure is useful."

"You're only just now realizing that?"

"No! Just, I'm glad he isn't going to be completely alone other than the demons," Thatch said dramatically.

Marco laughed. "They're not demons just cause you don't like yearly shots. Big baby," he said teasingly. "But he is gonna be alone a lot. I have my other responsibilities, going to meetings, helping out on deck when needed. Ace is gonna get lonely, and there's not really much I can do about it. Ace's absence won't directly affect the ships' functioning, but me? Me being missing for a long time could and probably would be detrimental," he explained, running a hand through his hair. "I can't imagine being quarantined in the infirmary. It's not exactly a very comfortable place to stay."

Thatch nodded, quickly making the oatmeal, which was pretty watery to go down easier. "You'll have to disinfect your room and wash all of the sheets and blankets." Marco nodded, knowing he'd have to do that. Not for himself, but if anyone else goes inside.

When Thatch finished the oatmeal with freshly squeezed orange juice, he said, "Hopefully this illness only happens to Ace and doesn't infect us. Or, another human infected _him." _ He handed Marco the tray with the bowl and glass on it. "Tell Ace I hope he gets better soon."

"Will do."

When he got back to the infirmary, Ace was sleeping, head turned barely to the side with trademark drool coming from his mouth. The underside of his nose was a little shiny with mucus, but nothing too bad. He set down the tray on the bed next to Ace's, and gently woke him up.

"Eh?"

"Food is here. It's ginger oatmeal with honey, and some fresh orange juice," Marco explained patiently while Ace sat up. "Thatch says he hopes you get better soon." Marco knew Ace enough by now to know that, if he said Thatch would miss him too, Ace would feel guilty for making someone, a friend, upset.

He gladly ate the oatmeal, though at a slow pace. Much slower than usual. Once he was done, and drank all of the juice, Tami entered and took the Iv drip out that was giving nutrients. The water one stayed, since he'd sleep a lot would most likely not wake up from thirst. "I'll come check on him in an hour or so," Marco said quietly, Ace already asleep again.

Marco clearly had some sign of stress in his demeanor or body language. No one but Thatch knew about Ace's current situation. "Son? Is everything alright?" Pops asked at the table. Marco was picking at his food, not feeling right without Ace next to him, inhaling french toast at an amazing speed.

"Ace woke up. He's quarantined in the infirmary for maybe a few weeks. Whiskey thinks it's contagious, since it has the same symptoms as a coronavirus," Marco replied sadly. "Ace feels guilty about not being around to help or do his duties. Izo, can you write a letter to him, saying what you think about this? You're his commander, after all."

Those at the table frowned, but we glad that Ace had woken up and was no longer having to have a machine breathe for him. "Tsk. Why is he so insistent on not being 'useless'? He gets sick, like all people do! Why isn't he concerned about himself more than others?" Izo ranted.

Thatch sighed, sitting down when the conversation started. "Ace doesn't seem to have very high value in himself other than helping other people. Probably from his childhood." Those who had heard Ace's drunken secrets exposed knew that was most likely correct.

"That's why he should join the family," Namur said.

Marco and Thatch shook their heads. Marco was the one to reply, "Ace is happy enough being here. He doesn't want to join the family by name, so we really need to move on from that. It's not happening. I really doubt it will ever happen. But we need to respect that, even if not all of us understand why he feels this way."

"Marco is right. Ace is family enough without being it by name," Whitebeard spoke up. "So, Marco, will you tell us more about his condition?" Marco nodded and recounted the day before and that morning.

Jozu asked, "How will anyone else be able to use the infirmary if it's quarantined?" A few of the others nodded, wondering the same thing. Marco didn't have an answer, as that hadn't been brought up.

"Most likely his bed will be moved away from the others. If he sleeps most of the time, then he won't exactly be touching anything or anyone who might get infected. If it even is contagious. He most likely got it from a human. He wasn't around any animals or tainted meat anytime recently," the captain said.

Thatch then added, "If it did jump from a human to him, does that mean it can jump back to us?" The others shrugged.

"I'll ask later. But, the nurses seem to think this is the best plan to keep everyone else healthy. I just hope there are no complications."

-x-

Ace slept most of the day for the past six days, only getting up to keep bed sores from happening, and to shower. But the walks were just around the infirmary, with a facemask on him so his germs didn't go on anything else. He was also awake for meals and using the bathroom. But most of the time, he napped. And most of the times Marco had visited, Ace hadn't known it.

He only woke when Marco came with food. Marco was barred from sleeping with Ace because, after Ace had touched a clipboard and hadn't known it, Tami had touched it and grown ill. If Ace got germs on any part of Marco, not just his hands, he might be able to spread it. Though her symptoms were very mild, she was now not allowed to leave the infirmary, which now was completely quarantined.

Tami had been very calm, doing her job when it was necessary, and resting when it wasn't. Though Ace continued to be sick, Tami recovered after three days, while Ace had been sick for over a week. And he was getting more and more bored, only sleeping because there was nothing else to do. Whiskey, when interacting with Ace after Tami got better, she wore a real mask, not a surgical one, with a gown and gloves to make sure she did not get sick.

Ace was so lonely. He missed sleeping with Marco, and cuddling or getting close. Or even just seeing him. He also missed Thatch, and his comfortable bed. They had already left the island, the kids making Ace cards, though they didn't know the source of the illness, so Marco sprayed each card with disinfectant before bringing them on the ship. No one would probably know what got Ace sick.

The day after he had to have the ventilator, and through that night, his symptoms grew more and more manageable, but he was still showing signs of illness, small as they may be. On the second day of him not showing any sign he was still sick, no fever or other symptoms, he was allowed to leave after a bath and throwing his clothes away. He wouldn't wear the ones that he got during his 13 days in the infirmary.

The morning he left, it felt like he'd been released from a prison, and headed straight outside before seeing anyone else. He stood by the railing and took in a deep breath of the outside air. The feeling of a breeze was wonderful, and the sound of the sea and flags flapping almost brought tears to his eyes. He'd missed everyone so much, and hated being alone. It was the least happy he'd been on the ship. Even when no one liked him, he had Thatch and then Marco.

When word got out that Ace was outside, his closest friends ran out onto deck and Thatch started a dogpile on him. Thatch, Haruta, Nick and Mika hugged him, while Marco just beamed. Ace laughed, even if he was being crushed, and tried to hug them back.

When they let him up, Thatch was a mess, tears on his face. "I missed you!" Thatch cried. "Damnit, Ace! Why'd you have to worm your way into my heart so much!" He was being very dramatic. Ace just grinned.

"Well, I didn't do it on purpose," he replied in a joking voice, so happy. "You're just weird like that."

"How rude! And I put my sou chefs on breakfast just so I could come see you!" Thatch said in mock anger. "If you don't hurry back, the french toast may be gone, I don't know."

Ace laughed. "You'll just make me more if I ask."

"Tsk. Damn right I will," Thatch replied. "Now, go see your flaming chicken boyfriend." Ace smiled and nodded, before running to Marco and flinging himself into a hug. Marco hugged him back and twirled him around. Thatch "oooo"ed, but both ignored him. Marco pressed his forehead to Ace's.

"Missed you," Marco whispered against Ace's face. Ace nodded, meaning he'd missed Marco as well. "Finally, my bed won't be so empty at night. Felt so lonely. It must have been so much worse for you. It looks like it didn't spread, so we can move on from it to happier things," the phoenix said. His flames came out and wrapped around Ace, whose fire responded as well. "The phoenix missed you a lot, too. But, it eventually realized what was best for you was to get better on your own. I swear, it cares more about you than anyone else on this crew."

Ace laughed happily. It was funny that the phoenix sometimes got in mental arguments with Marco, usually about not being with Ace at all times. Since phoenix's were rare or didn't exist in the first place, no one knew if they were all like that. Clingy and affectionate.

Marco had told Ace a while ago that the phoenix hadn't gone against any of his choices for decades before Ace arrived and he grew to have feelings for the sayla. Haruta came up from behind and plopped Ace's hat on his head. Ace reached up to feel the brim, happy to have its comforting weight back. It had been pointless to wear while he was in bed and sick.

"When's the next island?" Ace wondered, wanting to be on land.

"We left one a couple days ago. It was uninhabited, so it was mostly just hunting and gathering fruits and vegetables. We didn't say anything because you needed to only think of getting well again," Marco explained. Ace nodded, understanding why and not upset. Not being able to explore an island with no people would have made him jealous and wanting to be out of the infirmary to go.

"The next island is not protected, pretty busy, but it has a nice beach we can go to. We've been there before, of course, so we know of a cove. Only I could access it by flying there. And now you can, too. We could have a nice private area."

Ace perked up at the nice thought of a private beach. "But we can't swim," he pointed out. They were at the back deck by then, Ace in Marco's lap now.

"But we can sit in the waves if we don't get too deep in. Can go hunting for crabs and just eat it there," Marco replied. Ace leaned down and kissed Marco's collarbone softly. He threaded his hands into Ace's clean and soft hair. He'd taken a disinfectant shower before leaving the infirmary, just to be safe. It was with harsh soap.

"I'm not good at cooking with my powers yet. Probably would burn them," Ace said, moving his lips to Marco's neck and stubbled jaw.

"What are you doing?" Marco wondered. He sighed at the kisses under his jaw and against his throat.

"I missed you."

"But anyone could see," Marco pointed out.

"Well, I wanted to be outside, too," Ace replied, kissing up Marco's jaw and to the corner of his mouth. Ace knew it was not characteristic of him to show affection like this where others could see, but he'd missed Marco so much. And he wanted to spend time with him like this since they'd been deprived of so much alone time together in their room. Lost so much cuddling. "I'm sorry I got sick."

Marco looked startled at the subject change, but Ace still wasn't showing his face to Marco. The phoenix zoan traced the pirate mark he knew was there on Ace's back, and said, "It wasn't your fault you got sick, Ace. And only Tami caught it and she's perfectly fine. So are you."

"Maybe, maybe not. I don't know what the sickness could do in the long term, but I don't really care right now. I just want to be happy I'm no longer trapped in that room. I _hate _the infirmary. It felt like a white prison," Ace said, voice sour. He knew something could be wrong from the sickness, and just because nothing had happened so far didn't mean there weren't underlying health problems.

Marco frowned deeply, and kissed Ace's head, probably knowing just as much as he did that Ace could be affected by the unknown sickness still and no one would know it. "Well, now you don't have to be there anymore. And you don't have to be one of the ones to disinfect the ward. The nurses took very good care of the situation. Better than the last time." Ace asked what he meant. No one had told him there was a previous outbreak of some sort of sickness.

Marco leaned back against the railing a bit more and began to talk. "About 25 years ago, we landed on an island that had fallen ill. They thought it was sickness from the birds, since they were dying and the citizens on the island were eating them, without knowing how they died. Many of those you know today were not on the crew at that time. Most of the commanders were not there back then.

"Anyways, one of us came into contact with a sick man, and then he got sick. Thirteen of us got sick before that time's medical officials, with male nurses, kept them in the infirmary and quarantined all of them. All thirteen were trapped in there for three weeks. One of the nurses got sick. We didn't realize it was from the previous island, so we had no idea how to treat it.

"Pops was smart and had us backtrack. That island had developed a cure. By the time we got there, eight of the thirteen had died, including one of the nurses. It was a mess, and was very tragic. Half the residents on the island died before they came up with a treatment. So you getting sick, and having Tami be ill with a less severe version, is nothing huge."

Ace nodded, feeling sad for the Whitebeards who had died and those who had been left to mourn. "So, diseases can spread really badly on pirate ships?"

Marco nodded. "It's a real risk. Since pirates and marines are in a confined space with many other people, hygiene and proper medical care is a must. Being in closed quarters with sick people spreads whatever illness it is exponentially. That's why you were quarantined," Marco explained.

Ace looked down, feeling bad, but it really wasn't his fault he got sick. Marco was right about that. And no one died from it, not him or the nurses who took care of him. The two stayed on the deck for a good hour, Marco catching Ace up on what happened while he was out of commision. When Ace asked how much work he had to do, Marco shut it down.

"Your division members have offered to take your shares for the next three days. You may not feel like it, but your fellow division members adore you. They want you to get back to normal, and you just came out of quarantine. Some relaxation time is needed and they all understand that. Izo has been very flexible. He would be for any of his members. So, don't worry about having a huge workload to suddenly have to go back to." Ace nodded with a smile, thankful for his friends.

Ace was glad he was in Izo's division for many reasons. It seemed like one of the light hearted ones, with the most relaxing duties, and vibrant people. Izo was a nice commander, who didn't treat Ace like he was special, but also took time to know him. Even before joining his division, Izo spent time with his members, even if it was only brief. He'd have conversations with them. Ace wasn't special himself, he was just around Izo more because of Marco and Thatch.

The sayla snuggled against Marco's broad chest, falling asleep with his cheek against Marco's collarbone. Marco made little circles with his thumbs on Ace's protruding hip bones while he napped. It was probably not a sleep-attack, but relaxation on finally being better again, and free of the infirmary.

Ace would enjoy his days outside more after being inside so long.


	23. The Final Choice

**And we are here, the last chapter. I just finished writing my longest story yet: 201,000 words! 537 pages to edit. But I finished one of my other crossovers so I'll be posting that today since this one is over.**

**I hope the ending is satisfying. I had a lot of fun writing this. My only pre-pandemic - pandemic story. I started this back when I would bring my laptop to school and write. Enjoy~**

Marco made a deal with the phoenix. To wake himself every two hours to check on Ace. And he did, every two hours. Ace was fine, sleeping peacefully not sweaty or shaking. Just sleeping peacefully in Marco's embrace. He did his very best to not wake Ace up when he did, wanting him to sleep happily in a bed that wasn't in the infirmary.

The commanders' beds were all higher grade than regular bunks, so of course going to the hospital bed would be a serious step down than a commander's bed. Ace mumbled some sounds, but no words. The first mate still wished he knew what dream Ace had about money laundering.

Everytime he made sure Ace was okay, he drifted back to sleep with a smile. He'd missed sleeping with another warm body. The commander had grown so used to it over the months so that when Ace wasn't there, it felt wrong. Like something serious was missing. His bed felt colder, and his room less cozy.

Marco woke up the next day, for once in a while being the one who woke up later. He heard the sounds of the shower going in the bathroom, door closed. Marco yawned and stood up, going to the closet to take out clothes and then the dresser for underpants. He changed clothes, since Ace was in the other room, and dumped his dirty clothes into the cloth hamper hanging from the ceiling by a hook.

He couldn't help but wonder if Ace would ever be comfortable enough to be around him nude. Not just for sex, but to take baths together. Well, it would be nothing if they took a bath together; everyone bathed in the same bathhouses. Yet no one knew what Ace looked like naked except for the nurses, who helped him shower and make it to the bathroom when he was under quarantine.

And Ace did say he had a little anatomy lesson about human males, so Marco was the only one in the dark. He wouldn't ask; it wasn't necessary information. He was putting his sandals on when he saw Ace come out, a towel around his shoulders with loose pants on. He had a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth, the toothpaste gathered at the corner of his mouth.

"Morning," Marco said pleasantly. Ace nodded in reply, as he was scrubbing his teeth. He went back to the bathroom to spit in the sink and finished brushing his teeth.

"Did you sleep well?" Marco asked. Ace nodded with a smile.

"Much better than the infirmary. It was lonely and cold in multiple ways," Ace replied and headed to Marco to kiss his cheek. Marco was surprised by how affectionate he'd been since he was released, though he shouldn't be surprised. Ace was isolated for over a week, of course he was craving human contact with someone he loved. Marco kissed his closed eyelids. "I can't wait to go onto an island."

Marco laughed, and said they were nearing one in the next one to two days. "How is your haki coming along?"

Ace put a finger on his chin. "Well, when I was locking the infirmary, I tracked people around with my observation haki so I knew for sure I wasn't completely alone. Not much with the future seeing. There was nothing to see so I assume that's why… or something. And nothing happened with my conqueror's haki," Ace explained in detail. Marco was brushing his own teeth and then started shaving. Marco never wanted a mustache, so he only shaved above his lip and enough of his jaw to be mostly smooth besides the very edge.

The sayla was the only one aboard the ship who didn't need to shave, since he had no body hair in the first place, besides his eyebrows, eyelashes and hair. Marco wondered if humans even needed body hair since Ace seemed to do just fine without it.

When he was done, Ace had started sewing a project he'd had to put on hiatus when he got sick. "Ace. Remember you have a couple days off?" Marco asked. He wasn't scolding him, but he didn't want Ace to dive back into working after the stress and loneliness he was put through. "Don't you want to go eat Thatch's breakfast _with _Thatch?"

Ace nodded and put his work down, sticking the needle into his tomato shaped needle holder. They happily headed to the galley, though breakfast was already in full swing. They'd just slept in a bit. But Ace was made everything he usually was. French toast (of course), eggs, waffles, bacon, sausages. He scarfed them all down with gusto at the table.

"It's good to have you back, Ace," Pops said with a grin. "I'm sorry you had to be isolated. It was for everyones' well being."

"I know. Marco told me about illnesses on ships. I'm just glad no one else got sick and that Tami's case was mild," Ace replied, shoving a banana waffle in his mouth. The commanders chatted for a while, Ace staying quiet, just enjoying the company of other people. The chatter that echoed around the big room was a contrast to the silence of the infirmary. Marco knew that Tami and Whiskey were nice, but not very charismatic when they're doing their job seriously. And they weren't Ace's friends, so they must not have chatted or had any meaningful conversations about anything other than his health problems. Marco was glad he was free now.

After breakfast, Ace left Marco to go mingle with his division friends, who had all missed him as well. Marco didn't follow, he wasn't Ace's chaperone everywhere, and instead went to the navigation room to check into the logs about the weather in this area previously. As Marco told Ace, the Whitebeards had been to almost every island they were not _not _welcomed in the New World. Obvious ones to avoid, they did. None of them had stepped foot in Totto Land. Wano had fallen into Kaido's hands, so they did not go there as well.

But all of the other islands were game, including Shanks' as long as they didn't cause trouble. The only island Pops declined ever taking them was raftel. He believed that someone else should find the treasure, even if he knew it was real. Marco would always respect him for choosing family over fame. Well, a certain type of fame. He was infamous already.

The sea king activity and weather were bad in that area two years ago, he read. He flipped through the pages, and started writing notes for the navigation division. They were the second division which was still empty and most likely would be so for a time to come. The first division could not help but think Ace would make a great commander if he had more confidence in himself on the crew.

But, Ace was happy in Izo's division, living a simple role. Marco would never want him to do something he really didn't want to. He wanted Ace happy, as happy as he could be. There was a leader in the division, because there had to be, but not a division member. He wanted to be one, but Pops never offered, so he never asked.

Marco brought the notes to the captain, who was in the sanitized and no longer quarantined infirmary getting a check up.

"I can't believe you listened, even when we were distracted with Ace. I'm shocked, but thank you," he heard Whiskey say in an amazed voice.

Whitebeard laughed. "Rum is much better than coffee, but I'll settle." Marco blinked twice. He'd been so distracted for the last two weeks, strung up and nervous that he didn't even notice Pops was drinking less. Since the captain rarely fell into a drunken state, it wasn't extremely noticeable. Marco felt terrible for not paying attention enough to notice.

"What changed?" Tami asked.

"Ace's situation. I need to be in my best health if an outbreak or some sort of catastrophe occurs. And being dead from drinking too much isn't going to help anyone. And Marco, I don't blame you for not noticing. No one has but a few of your very watchful brothers." Obviously, it was evident to a haki user that Marco was in the room.

Whitebeard laughed when Whiskey dabbed her eyes. "About time, you dumbass!" she finally exploded, the captain laughing louder, sounding truly happy. _Nobody _else would get away with telling Pops he was a dumbass. Marco had called him an idiot before, though.

"I'm sorry to stress you, daughters," the captain said, patting Whiskey on the back. "I assume I'm free to leave?"

"Yes. That wasn't the quickest check up ever! You didn't argue a _single time! _Who are you, Pops? Are you sick, too?" Tami exclaimed, truly looking suspicious.

"If I were sick, I know I can count on you to make me better. I'm very proud of your handling Ace's illness. I wasn't even allowed to go near anyone who might be contagious. So I'm sorry you had to do most of the work," Pops apologized sincerely. Whiskey waved her hand.

She put the clipboard down and sat next to him. "You would have just gotten in the way even if it wasn't contagious. It's really lucky Ace didn't die from it or spread it throughout the ship." Marco flinched, now standing with his sisters and father, when he heard Ace could have died.

The captain asked if it had really been that bad. He knew it had been, but had not seen Ace at his worst. "His body was rapidly failing him. He was unable to regulate his temperature, was so exhausted he could barely stand up on his own, and needed assisted breathing. His body rebounded. And without _any medication. _It might have been a mistake to not try medication, but it was a risk I was willing to take. And his body was able to fend it off with some healthy food and tea. I know you're the strongest man in the world, but your immune system is crap compared to Ace's."

Whitebeard laughed, and said, "Well then I guess it's good Ace is not human or he'd take my spot. Though it wouldn't bother me to have a son surpass my strength."

Marco smiled softly. Pops wasn't super close to Ace, not like the commanders, but Marco knew the captain loved Ace like a son. He kept his distance because Ace had never made a show that he wanted to be close to the captain. Maybe for certain reasons. And though there had been more than one kidnapping when he wanted someone on his crew, Ace was delicate and Whitebeard did not interfere with the space he seemed to need.

Ace was unique in the fact that he both longed for a family (Marco could tell) but was vehemently opposed to having one if it _wasn't his brothers. _Maybe if they weren't all men, he'd be fine with sisters.

"Now, Marco, what did you need to speak about?" Whitebeard asked, standing and leaving the nurses with a cheeky grin, while they looked like Pops' check up made their days.

"Oh, right. Well, I looked into our past log books and this area of the New World is a mess. At least, where we're going to enter sometime tomorrow morning, if we continue at this pace," Marco explained. He had his reading glasses on, and said, "Unusual sea king activity and storms. It was two years ago, so it could have just been a fluke, but I think we should be prepared for anything unusual happening," Marco explained thoroughly.

Whitebeard nodded, touching his large mustache in thought. "Well we can't avoid it most likely, so we'll all be ready when it comes. The Moby is strong, she won't be bested by some sea kings," the captain bragged.

"That is true, but you know our crew is full of morons. Many you handpicked yourself. What will we do if someone showed their idiocy and a sea king gets them?" Marco asked, only half kidding. Whitebeard laughed, as they'd reached his throne out on deck, where people were moving about or talking and laughing.

"Then we'll deal with that if it comes," the captain replied. Marco didn't think the answer was that great, but it wasn't like they could un-stupid their family. Well, their common sense. His attention was brought to Ace, who was being followed by many of his friends from the division. Ace looked very uncomfortable, even through the awkward _reassuring _smile. Marco looked to Pops, who was frowning and nodded for him to go see what was wrong.

Marco pushed his way through the group. "Ace? Baby, what's the problem?"

"Nothing," Ace said. It was clearly a lie, which was shocking to Marco. But it had to be something that Ace knew would worry people, so he was lying. Marco turned and dismissed those who were concerned for Ace. "I'm fine, Marco," Ace said in a tight voice.

"C'mon, let's go inside and talk," Marco replied, knowing Ace would not talk if there were a lot of people around. Ace went with him inside, past everyone. Marco could feel the trembles in Ace's hand, which he was holding tightly. Marco brought them to their room, sensing this was a big problem, whatever it was. And even if it wasn't, Marco wouldn't want anyone thinking whatever upset Ace was an overreaction or stupid.

He closed the bedroom door behind them quietly and walked with Ace to the bed. "Ace, what is the matter? Please tell me. Are you feeling sick again?" Marco asked in great worry. The sayla shook his head.

"I'm not sick. Just… I th-think there was a side effect," Ace muttered. Marco's heart started to hammer in worry. He didn't need to ask what the problem was, Ace didn't leave him hanging. It would be cruel. "I can't change colors."

Marco kept himself from sighing in relief that Ace wasn't in pain, but it was a big deal. Ace had told them that was something all of the sayla could do. Something in their DNA, and if Ace couldn't anymore, then something had happened in his DNA. "At all?" Marco asked, holding Ace's hand and showing genuine concern, not terror and not relief.

"I tried to show Mika the color green I wanted and I couldn't. Then I tried turning all human color. It didn't work. People started asking me what was wrong when I stopped talking. Kept asking what the problem was," Ace explained. Marco cupped his face.

"They care about you, of course they were concerned. It's normal to be worried when your friend seems upset, right?" he asked in a soft voice. "If you can't change colors anymore, be happy you are forever in _this _you, yourself, and _not _as a human. You get to be you forever, and everyone else will just have to deal with a blue person walking around," Marco said in a strong voice.

Ace looked sad. "I don't want people to be worried about me anymore." Marco sighed quietly.

"Well, I'm not sorry to say that as long as you have people who love you, _someone _will worry. Someone will be concerned. Even if you're perfectly healthy and great and nothing is wrong, someone will worry. That's just how it is. Most of the crew is worried about Pops' age and health, but he goes on through life happy and free.

"You ran into good people when you came here, and you're stuck with us," Marco finished.

Ace was looking at his hand, sad, but much better than before Marco talked to him. "Sorry I lied. I didn't want you to worry," the sayla said quietly.

"Well, that's what will continue to happen here, Ace. Or anywhere with good friends or family. You'll worry about us and we'll worry about you. And this changes nothing with us. We all love your normal side, _this _you. It's just outsiders who will think it's not normal," Marco explained. "And we're outlaws in the first place. None of us fit in with 'normal' humans."

Marco leaned forward and kissed Ace's cheek. He wiped away the tears on Ace's cheeks. "I'm scared," Ace whimpered, curling in on himself. "I don't want to be sick or have something bad happen."

"I know, baby. And if anything else happens, we're in it with you. Through thick and thin, we're friends," Marco said, barely skirting saying "family" instead of friends. Having Ace there with them, stubborn as he is, had trained them in avoiding hot topics. AKA the words: "brother, father, family". Ace was family even if he might not see them as that.

Ace nodded. "I-I'm gon…" and Marco caught him from falling forward. He tucked Ace back into the bed, resting his forearms on his knees, shoulders hunched. What kind of damage could have happened to inhibit Ace from doing something his whole species could? He was trying to figure out what kind of thing would happen with a human. They didn't have natural abilities, like the sayla, so it was hard to think about like that.

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Well, he couldn't let himself or Ace wallow in fear and confusion. The ability might come back, it might be a fluke, or it could be something else. They wouldn't know, couldn't know, so there was no use in fretting about it in an unhealthy amount of intensity.

-x-

After talking to Marco about the issue, Ace started to secretly feel different about the whole situation. He was given a lot of time to himself with Marco and the others being busy watching out for the ship or weathering storms that popped up. So Ace didn't need to explain why he had this certain look on his face while seemingly thinking of nothing.

They were landing on the island later that day, soon, most likely. Ace was nervous, but happy. He could tell Marco was liking the lifted demeanor. Ace wouldn't share it though. It was kind of stupid. He was happy because he lost something he had had his whole life. It wasn't losing it that made him happy, but what it meant for him in the _human _world.

Now he would always be himself. He'd never again dress up as a human to make _their _lives easier. They'd see Ace as he was, even if they didn't like it. Now Ace could never be a human, ever be seen as one. He loved Marco and liked his crew, but as a whole, he still had many fundamental problems with the humans.

Ace may get stared at, he was used to it, but it would be better for him than having people like him just because he looked normal. He didn't know what to expect from other humans, the Whitebeards were weird. Many of them didn't accept him at first, and maybe not still, but none of them tried to hurt Ace. Not directly, like the pool of oil in his room that time.

What if he was attacked on an island? Well, the pirates would never let anyone get away with that, and Ace wouldn't just let anyone hurt him. He would defend himself as peacefully as he could. It was here that his power was incredibly useful. He could stop them without even touching them.

Standing at the railing as the island came into view as everyone was tired from avoiding the disasters that plagued them for the last many hours, Ace stared at it. It had a lush forest on it, that crawled up a steep mountain. Ace would like to explore it. Marco came up behind him. "It's pretty isn't it?"

"Yeah. I want to explore the mountain," Ace replied. Marco put his arm around his lover.

"Then why don't we?" he asked with a grin, Ace returning it. "Are you worried about going in your true colors?"

Ace shrugged one shoulder. "I guess a little. I don't know how people will react, y'know? But, no one will like me as a faker. They have to deal with me being myself," Ace replied. Marco kissed his temple and Ace giggled. Marco was clearly surprised by Ace's demeanor, after not only half a day ago he was a mess. Now he seemed almost happy.

"I'm glad you're in a good mood," he said, not asking any questions or making assumptions. The ship sailed closer and they went around the back side of the island, where they usually went. Rarely did they dock at a port. For one, their ship never fit, and second, they were pirates. Not welcome most times. Ace put his hat on, hands on his hips with a smile on.

Like always, the first day was business, and Ace offered to help Thatch again. The sixteenth division was not out of supplies, and therefore didn't need to go shopping all together. Only getting their own things to use for themselves. Ace would get something later. He wanted to hang out with Thatch for now.

"Sure! I'll go get the cart. Jimmy will be getting the packaged foods, we'll get the meats and fruits and veggies," Thatch said, happy to have Ace to hang out with. Ace was not surprised that Marco wanted to go too, so the three left, Marco going, too, but also buying medicines when they came across the shop. Killing two birds with one stone.

The first person to see Ace in his true form just blinked at him dumbly. It was a farmer, since they were walking through the wooded area, where there was a path for the pirates to make to town. He stared at Ace, and rubbed his arm across his eyes. Seeming to realise he wasn't seeing things, the farmer just shrugged and went back to work. The two humans chuckled while Ace shook his head in amusement.

None of them were under the impression everyone would react that way, but it was a good start. When they reached the edge of the city, Marco was holding Ace's hand tightly. None of them were surprised with the shameless staring, or the whispers. Ace could hear the words, questioning what was with him, why he was blue. They saw his tattoo as he passed, and their words soon involved the Whitebeard pirates. Thatch looked the most worried out of the three.

Ace put his blue hand on Thatch's shoulder, smiling at him reassuringly. Ace was the one comforting _him. _The chef smiled at him and knocked his hat back to rub his hair. Ace pushed the hand away with a laugh.

He hadn't been stared at like this in quite some time, but he was not offended. Just like he had said the first time, it was natural for people to stare. As long as they didn't do anything bad, Ace didn't care much about the stares.

"Alright, where first?" Marco asked. Thatch replied that they should get the medicine first so the food didn't have to wait longer than necessary. Marco nodded, and the three walked through the streets to find the drug store. The pirates kept maps of the islands they visited, marking where things were. There were many copies of them for the pirates to use to find their way around. Veteran pirates weren't stupid, so of course they had things like this set up.

More than a few times, children saw Ace, and looked at him in awe only for their parents to usher them away or scold them for staring so openly. Maybe people thought he was a fishman? After all, doesn't every human know what fishmen and merfolk were? They wouldn't guess Ace was from another planet.

Ace could feel the people moving around him, what they were doing and where they were heading. But he didn't let it overwhelm him like it had done for so long. He let it sit on the backburner of his mind.

"What a freak," he heard a male voice say from behind them. He dodged slightly to the left when something came flying at him. It missed him and landed on Marco's shirt. Marco stopped and turned around with a death glare at the person who'd thrown the egg. He let loose intimidating haki that had the kids knees shaking.

Ace didn't stop him. He watched as the guy's friends ditched him. That made Ace frown, what good friends. Marco took his vest off with a huff and tossed it into the crate. "Little shit," he grumbled. Ace stared at his muscled torso and it was a little weird to see him shirtless out in public, though he wasn't one to talk. "Sorry I dodged and you got hit."

"It was my fault for not being fast enough. Idiots, throwing food at a Whitebeard pirate. They clearly saw your back," Marco said irately. Ace put his on the shoulder. He ignored the stares, instead looking around the shop when they entered, Thatch staying outside to watch the cart. Not that anyone would steal it easily, it was heavy as hell.

Marco had many baskets, and was picking up things from a list in bulk. Ace read the packages, the bottles. There were so many. Not as many as there were back home, but still quite a lot. The cashier watched him warily the whole time, but Ace didn't mind. While some people might feel like holes were being stared into him, he barely noticed. Well, he knew they must be staring at him, but it didn't make him uncomfortable.

There were no Celestial Dragons or nobles on this island, so Ace was safe. Plus, he was accompanied by Marco and Thatch. Once Marco was done shopping, he paid for the multiple baskets of medication and ingredients, and collected Ace to go back outside with Thatch and head to the market.

Marco put all of the medication in the dozen bags into the cart, where he'd watch them carefully. They headed to the market that sold fruits and vegetables, rice and fish, meat and spices. The three wandered around, Thatch not needing a list as he knew what they needed and what he wanted.

Ace picked out some stuff while Marco did others. The cart was steadily filled, dozens of sacks of uncooked rice, and tons of perishables, mostly things that he could freeze. They ended up spending over a million berris on food alone. "Why did we get so much this time?" after all, someone else was stocking up on non-perishables.

"Over a month until the next island. We'll be sailing through slow waters, the wind speed low. We need to stock up for that extended length of time." Ace looked down when a child pulled on his hand. He looked surprised, but crouched down.

"Did you need something?" Ace asked kindly.

"Mister, why are you blue?" the little boy asked. Ace grinned, and said it was a secret, but he'd let him in on it as long as he didn't spread it.

"I'm magic. I can't go into detail, but I'm blue cause I'm magic. Make sure to keep it a secret, okay?" Ace asked with an exaggerated voice, looking around like he didn't want anyone else to hear.

The little boy nodded and promised he wouldn't tell anyone. He ran off then, and Ace wondered where his parents were. He stood back up to walk with Marco and Thatch back to the ship and through the forest, back the way they'd come.

It was when they were nearing the edge of town when they heard a woman screaming somewhere near. The three stopped, and Ace wordlessly hurried to the sound in concern. She sounded really upset. He came around a corner to see a man grabbing her wrist and not letting go. He looked disturbing. "Hey! Leave her alone," Ace commanded, glaring.

"Fuck off!" the man said, and started to drag her away. Ace released as best a burst of haki as he could, as he still wasn't very good at it. They both fell, but Ace turned into fire and got to the woman before she fell. Marco and Thatch were watching with sad eyes. Ace had a feeling they knew what was going to happen. Ace carried the woman back to his friend and lover.

"What do I do with her?" Ace wondered, glaring at the human who was unconscious.

Thatch frowned softly. "We'll wait for her to wake up and then take her back to her home," he said. "But let's get away from that guy," he added, pointing to the unconscious human.

It didn't take long for the woman to wake up, seeing two men standing near her, one blue. Thatch had left so the food didn't go bad, not knowing how long it'd take for her to wake up. "Are you alright, miss?" Ace asked.

She nodded, wiping tears away. "Thank you for saving me," she blubbered. Ace smiled in response.

"Where do you live? We'll escort you back home," Marco said. He wasn't as kind as Ace, his voice a bit gruff while the sayla sounded like the nicest person you'd ever meet.

"You don't need to. I can make it back myself," she said quickly. Ace frowned.

He replied, "I'd like to make sure you get back to your home safely. It won't be a problem, we have nothing to do anyways," the sayla added. He was impressed that the woman wasn't acting shocked by his appearance. "What is your name?" She had blonde hair and a kind face.

"Conis," she replied.

"I'm Ace and this is Marco," Ace said. "Yes, Phoenix Marco. We're Whitebeard pirates." Ace didn't want to scare her or startle her off guard when she noticed their tattoos. "So, where do you live?"

Conis looked shocked, probably that they were pirates helping her for no real reason of their own. "You are very nice for pirates," she commented, smiling softly. "I don't live too far away."

Marco chuckled. "Oh, we're not all like Ace. He's the odd one out on our crew," the first mate said fondly. "Now, let's get you back home." The three headed in the direction Conis was leading them. She looked comfortable around Ace and Marco, probably because they had saved her and didn't seem to have any ulterior motives. When they got to her home, they walked her to the door, which she unlocked.

"Thank you so much," she said with a bow. Ace and Marco nodded, and Ace wished her a good day. She had some more tears in her eyes, and then closed the door behind her. Ace was surprised she hadn't once asked Ace why on earth he was blue. Everyone else seemed hung up on it.

Marco kissed Ace on the mouth. "You're so sweet, Ace. But you'll ruin our pirate reputation, you know." Ace knew he was joking, and grinned.

"Any decent person would have helped her," Ace responded. Marco raised an eyebrow.

"So am I not decent, then?" Ace sputtered out that he didn't mean it like that, but Marco just laughed. "C'mon, let's go back home. Then we can go out and explore the forest and mountain." Ace was satisfied with his first time out in public as himself. Stares and mutters were to be expected, but no one really did anything but the guy who stupidly threw an egg at them.

Ace latched onto Marco's arm and hugged it. "You're so brave. I'm so proud of you," Marco said, and Ace giggled.

-x-

Marco was playing poker with Ace and many of the commanders, and he knew something was up with Ace. Not just because he was winning spectacularly when he usually was _terrible _at it. He kept blinking his eyes in a weird way. He also had a cheeky grin on. Something was up, and when Ace won again, Thatch rudely pointed at him and shouted, "You're cheating!"

They all knew Thatch was right when Ace didn't deny it. He just smiled pleasantly. Marco raised an eyebrow, wanting to know what he was thinking of. "How could I be cheating?" Ace asked curiously, still smiling brightly.

"I don't know, but you are!" Thatch argued heatedly.

"Maybe I've just gotten better at it since we last played," he offered, taking an apple wedge from the plate in front of him.

"That's not true! It's like you're predicting our moves somehow," the chef accused heatedly. Ace grinned brighter, elated with something, and then it clicked. The sayla was not denying the claim, seemed happy with it being said out loud. He shrugged playfully.

Marco asked, "Are you controlling your foresight?"

Ace put his hand on the back of his hat and tipped his head back a bit. "Maayybbeee," he replied. The commanders eputed into either anger or happiness. Anger because he'd been cheating, and happiness that he could finally control it. But it seemed out of nowhere. Ace hadn't said anything about it and here he was controlling it perfectly.

"Since when?" Marco wondered, trying not to feel hurt that he wasn't told first. Ace hadn't brought it up anytime recently. Did he master it that day or had he been hiding his progress? Why would he do that?

"I've been practicing for a couple days. I wanted to wait until I was sure I was using it correctly before bringing it up. It took you long enough to say I was cheating! I don't know how to play poker," he joked in a bright voice.

Marco grabbed him and trapped him in his lap, Ace kicking and trying to get out of the tight squeeze. "So, how does it work?" he asked curiously once Ace stopped struggling.

"I can only see a few seconds, and it looks different than normal. It's from my point of view, but sort of a muted color. It's hard to explain. Now that my plan has been foiled, I won't cheat anymore. Promise," he said with a bright smile.

Suddenly, Ace looked up at something he could sense coming down. "There's something falling towards us," he said in wonder, wondering what it was. Things didn't fall from the sky here, unless it was a meteor or something like that? Marco looked up to see it was something shiny, and the group got up before it slammed down on the deck, crushing the plate of apple slices.

It was a big box-like thing. It was shiny, black and silver, with white lights on it. And symbols that Marco recognized were Ace's language. It was something from his world. He looked to the side, to see a shocked Ace, staring down at it.

"I-is that from your world?" Thatch asked nervously. None of them had any idea as to what it was or what it did. But it worried them. What if it was a way for Ace to get home? What if he left them? Ace nodded numbly, and walked forward, staring down at it, eyes flicking from side to side as he read whatever it said.

Haruta got behind Ace to look at it, even if he didn't know how to read Ace's language. Marco recognized many of the symbols, one of them was Ace's name, which looked much longer than how his name was written in their language.

Ace's eyes widened, and his eyebrows furrowed, a look of uncertainty. Marco bit his lip, feeling utter fear. If Ace went home… to his old home… what would Marco do? He was so in love with Ace, it would feel like part of his heart was ripped away. And it would be crushing that Ace chose something else over him. Did Ace still miss home so much?

"What does it say?" Marco asked, the tremble in his voice. Ace swallowed, and then cleared his throat.

"It's asking me if I need assistance getting back home. They were able to track where I am from the chip in my head. I didn't know it had a tracker in it."

Marco's face drained of color. He couldn't ask what Ace was going to say back. The zoan started to shake, the phoenix freaking out inside as well. Flames erupted on his shoulders, and Marco couldn't contain them. Ace still didn't look up. Then he started to type quickly, picking out symbols so unlike their language. His fingers flew across the surface.

Another message turned up after Ace pressed a button to send the message. Marco couldn't help but be in awe of the technology. Ace read this one as well, and responded quickly. The message was longer this time. The pirates waited silently, not wanting to interrupt, even if many of them were feeling worried.

Ace stood back, done typing, as the box extended, opening up further to show smaller boxes inside, though these ones were the hard metal of the whole case itself. Ace pulled the boxes out, and opened them to see two black surfaces, flat and skinny. Ace smiled a watery smile, and held the things to his chest, closing his eyes. Everyone was curious, but said nothing.

He held the unknown objects in his arm while he opened another box. This one was another wristband like the original he'd had, only it looked a bit different from the first. He strapped it to his wrist, and sighed when it was in place. That was all there was. He closed the box, whose lights dimmed until it was just a smooth surface.

Silence surrounded them, until Marco gathered the courage to ask what he said back. "I said I was going to stay here. They sent me some stuff, photos of my brothers, and a new wrist band in case I need anything." The deck was quiet before cheers erupted, and Marco hugged Ace tightly, the phoenix feeling utter relief as well. He pulled back and asked to see Ace's treasured brothers. The pictures were of two young kids. One was a boy with black hair like Ace's, wide light blue eyes, blue skin as well, but without freckles.

He had a white, curved stripe under his left eye but that was all. He was grinning, holding what Marco assumed was a stuffed animal from his world. Next was an older boy with blond, curly hair, holding up a book, which looked very old. Ace touched the surface, and moved his finger to the left, where more pictures showed up.

"They looked like they were very happy." Marco said. Ace then showed a picture of him and both of them, all children, though Luffy was smaller than the other two. Sabo and Ace looked the same age.

"We were all happy," Ace said, looking at the pictures lovingly.

Thatch came up behind them, and said, "Aww, little Ace was so cute! And the littlest one was adorable!" Ace sniffled, and nodded in agreement.

"Luffy was an idiot. But he was our idiot," Ace replied, a smile in his voice. "Marco, will you help me take this to our room?" Ace asked, pointing to the box. Marco lifted it and was surprised with how heavy it was. He had a bright smile on his face.

"You chose us over going home?" he asked quietly. Ace beamed at him, bright and sunny.

He nodded. "You're my new friends. I've gotten used to living here, and now I can request things if I need them. Medicine if I need it. Even if I'm no longer part of that world, I'm still one of their citizens, and they do everything they can to make us happy and healthy," he explained. "I love you too much to leave."

After Marco set the big device in the back of the closet, putting a blanket over it, he hugged Ace tightly, after he set the devices on the dresser near photos of the Whitebeard family, Ace included. "I love you. Thank you so much," Marco said against Ace's soft hair.

"I love you, too. And you're welcome. This is my new home," he replied quietly.

The End


End file.
